Regarding the point of statue, JJ did allocate land near the andhra mahila sabha hospital in adyar, but no news after that.

Although the location of the statue leaves a lot to be desired, yes,. mu ka scores here.

I am not absolving JJ of the blame. I am only saying that initially JJ allotted land for the statue.

But there was no news abt it later. Vjkanth even mentioned abt it at that time. He was the nadigar sangam president then.

The land allocated by JJ is not for Statue, but for his 'Ninaivu Mandapam'. She allotted the land, which belongs to PWD and that was under dispute. After that she did not take any further steps for that.

But she never took any action for the erection of Shivaji's statue anywhere.

I disagree on the location of the statue near the beach. It is a traffic hinderance.

An alternate site should have been chosen.

Murali Srinivas

10th July 2007, 07:52 PM

Dear Smith(1),

Welcome to NT thread. Your posts have a under current that implies that you are in the know how of things that happened. Though most of the NT fans would disagree with you including me with the location of the statue, we will not fight with you. Continue to post here.

Joe,

Are you sure about the walk out? As for as I know there was no such incident. This was sometime around Aug 1994 and the only note of discontent was from Mani Rathinam who questioned the need for such a film city and that too in the dias itself.

About Rajini, you are right. In April 1995 during the Chevaliar award function, he openly spoke about the treatment meted out to NT during the earlier function.

Regards

joe

10th July 2007, 08:19 PM

Joe,

Are you sure about the walk out? As for as I know there was no such incident.

It is true ..It is reported that kamal was so angry.He didn't even give face to JJ and left the place before it completed .After that he never had contact with JJ until chevalier function.

DHANUSU

10th July 2007, 10:13 PM

A deserving person

AVM Studios are planning to commemorate thespian Shivaji Ganesan's fifty year tenure in the Tamil film industry next year.

Wayback in 1950, Sivaji Ganesan entered the Tamil film industry in Chennai. He flew down to shoot for his first film 'Parasakti'. Next year it will be the 50th year of his tenure in Cinema.

The first scene which was picturised near a water pipe for the film 'Parasakthi' where Sivaji says his first dialogue `Vetri Vetri' is inside AVM studio. That spot has been converted into an office. Sivaji's 50 th year of service will be celeberated in AVM studio in a grand manner befitting this thespian.

Sivaji has contributed more to the film field than any other individual has done. His performances in a number of films have drawn huge crowds to the theatres and one can say very assertively that he was the reason why a number of our classical stories became so popular.

Most of his films are remembered scene by scene even today and his acting has had a tremendous impact on the next generation of stars. There has been no person who has been blessed with his kind of talent and the industry has found a major void after him.

Mumbai, July 29
Noted film actor and MP Sunil Dutt said today that Sivaji Ganesan, who passed away last week, should be awarded Bharat Ratna posthumously for his outstanding contribution to the film industry.

Speaking at a joint condolence meeting of several cultural institutions here at Shanmukhananda Sabha, he said: “Sivaji was not only a great actor but also a fine human being who exercised maximum potential not for personal glory but towards the uplift of humanity”.

Dutt, who acted in films which were re-makes of films in which Sivaji starred, said he deliberately avoided watching the original Tamil version because he knew he would never be able to rise to the height of Sivaji’s acting.

Speaking on the occasion, state Chief Secretary V. Ranganathan said: “Sivaji did not merely act but lived the role he acted”.

Noted ghazal singer Rajinder Mehta sang a specially composed song on Sivaji during the condolence meeting.

BANGALORE: Veteran South Indian film actress B. Saroja Devi has joined the film industry in urging the Centre to confer the Bharat Ratna posthumously on thespian Sivaji Ganesan in recognition of his contribution to the film industry.

Saroja Devi, who had paired with the late doyen of Tamil films in a number of tear-jerkers, while participating in a condolence meeting organised by the Sivaji Ganesan Fans Association here on Friday, said he deserved the coveted title and called upon the people to unitedly urge the Centre in this regard.

Sivaji was one of the few artistes who played a variety of roles with effortless ease, she added.

Another veteran actress Jayanthi, who echoed the sentiments of Saroja Devi, said she was yet to reconcile with the fact that the thespian was no more. PTI, UNI
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2001/20010730/nation.htm#5

National recognition is reported to have been won by Tamil thespian Sivaji Ganesan along with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for 1996. How correct is this claim? Not much, if what is meant is the recognition of more than a mere name (with a puzzlingly misspelt first name, for north Indians). Which raises questions. What is the recognition he deserves? And why has he been denied it? The answers are of interest and relevance beyond the State that has been his stage.

The first question first. The recognition Sivaji deserves is for the major trend he represents, and not in Tamil cinema alone. It is one he deserves for his contribution to cinematic history, and the term is used advisedly and not in adulatory tribute. His celluloid advent and advance symbolised a larger evolutionary leap of the mass medium elsewhere as well, and imparted the process a push of perhaps underestimated importance.

The variation that made it a more evolved medium was very Indian. From the silent films the way here did not lead straight to talkies. It was songs that followed the silence on the screen. It was the singer-actor who set the tone for the Indian cinema. The song retains its importance to this day, even if the singer does not. He was replaced by the playback, who did not enjoy the same predominance. The heir to the hero of lyrics was the one of lines.

After the beginning, the word needed its wizards too. And the word was God in Tamil cinema after Sivaji. He, thus, deserves recognition as a representative as well as a reinforcer of the transition.

Records of screen dialogues came to replace those of film songs in Tamil Nadu, even if only for a short while, in the fifties. That was two decades before Sholay. But the declamatory deliveries of Sivaji that held crowds spellbound could not have been more different from Amjad Khan's "Arrey oh Samba". The angry young man's articulation of inordinately long passages of purple prose was nothing like the bragging and cursing of the bandit.

What the audience lapped up in the latter's case was not just a show of lung power. It was a language being rediscovered. Sivaji's rich voice, with its range and reach, made something like mass poetry out of unpromising material. It won't be hype to rate him higher than a Shakespearean actor similarly dependent on lines, considering that none of his scriptwriters bore even a coincidental resemblance to the Bard.

Like M. Karunanidhi. Frequently recalled is Sivaji's dramatic screen advent in Parasakthi with a fierily theatrical delivery of the DMK leader's alliterative agitprop. His career marched forward with more convoluted rhetorics of the same authorship and the same stentorian reproduction in Manohara. But Sivaji's voice was too versatile to remain an instrument solely of party propaganda of a particularly stilted variety. It was the voice that appealed more than the words, and lent them an enchantment of its own.

Somewhat in the manner of Amitabh Bachchan's vocal magic. As allegedly uncommercial a director as Sayajit Ray recognised the mass appeal of Bachchan's voice and used it for the opening lines of Shatranj ke Khiladi. It had no acting role for Bachchan, who remained an angry young man on screen much longer than the Tamil superstar. The dimensions of Sivaji's voice were discovered early and the result was a greater diversity of roles than the star system and its stereotypes generally allow.

Among these dimensions were the popular Sivaji deliveries in Tamil dialects. Analogous to Amitabh-speak again (remember the Ganga kinarewala with his Banaraswala paan in Don?) was his adoption of the Kongu peasant speech of Coimbatore. An irony of this `Dravidian' career was that the Brahmin dialect, earlier only a butt of ridicule, became one of the forms of spoken Tamil to find sympathetic articulation through Sivaji.

The answer to the second question raised in the beginning, however, lies in a paradox. It is precisely because Sivaji represented a larger cinematic trend so well that he has been denied more than a regional recognition in real terms. The voice of any culture demands a cultivated ear, and can only be lost on an unattuned listener. The Sivaji talkie could not talk to the non-Tamil India as the technocreative Kamalahasan cinema can today.

http://www.financialexpress.com/ie/daily/19970724/20550303.html

DHANUSU

10th July 2007, 11:01 PM

July 21 will remain a black day in the annals of Indian cinema. It marked the passing away of `Sivaji’ Ganesan the great versatile actor who brought glory to Tamil cinema. Though three years has passed by, the memories of the thespian continues to haunt the movie lovers. Each and every movie of his when telecast on TV channels brings him back to our memories. No actor can ever have been influenced by Sivaji. However different styles might have come up right from Rajnikant- Kamalhassan to the present day Dhanush has shades of Sivaji’s acting style. It’s futile to list out movies to showcase `Sivaji’s talent. Story writers and directors tear their hair in desperation since the thespian has essayed every possible role that one can think. It was the versatility that Sivaji showed which made him an icon of the filmdom. He never stuck to portraying roles that had no shades of grey. He never desired to carve out an image but instead hoped only to accept the challenge of the roles as an actor. Be it the suave suited gentleman or the playboy to the rustic illiterate the actor in him took it as a challenge. He said that life was his inspiration. He learnt and observed from what life offered. He toured the world and interacted with top leaders though he lacked formal education. He always lamented that he did not get the opportunity to have a formal education. He learnt from his own resources to become an authority in Tamil language. His diction was perfect. He hobnobbed with the literary giants as well as social reformists. Know to his close circle as Appa’, Sivaji maintained cordial relationship with MGR who was his only rival in films and politics. Fondly addressed as Anna by Sivaji he always made it a point to invite MGR for most important events in his life and the matinee idol too responded. Old timers remember how Sivaji and MGR had a mutual understanding over the wages for a film. When Sivaji was asked as to whom would be his successor he replied I don't believe in naming anybody as my successor because the actors coming after me can be better than me. I don't want to be the benchmark. Having worked in the days when actors were hired on monthly wages (then known as company artiste) Sivaji always-called his producer `Mudalali’. He never once shirked call sheets or reported late. Due to his punctuality other artistes too came on time. The memories of the thespian remains in the heart of the moviegoers. The land allotted for construction of a memorial in his memory remains unutilized by the Nadigar Sangham When a fire breakout in Sivaji’s house a few days back the overwhelming response from the public who turned up in large numbers show the regard and affection that they have for their darling hero who entertained them for several decades. With the passing of yet another year the memories become even stronger.

The name Sivaji Ganesan is firmly attached to the augmentation of the South Indian film industry into one of the most vigorous kinds of cinema in India. This veteran actor, who died recently, dominated the southern silver screen for more than 45 years; he carved a permanent place for himself in the hearts of the Tamil masses with his vast corpus of character portrayals.

There are fans who will argue that his genius went unrecognised in a (hammy) country such as ours and that he received his due more in other parts of the world.

What is undeniable is his facility with multi-characterisation: he would slip as easily into the skin of Julius Caesar as he would Lord Shiva. Next count he would slip right back out and into the role of, say, a frustrated youngster, a womaniser, an urban Brahmin, a rickshaw driver or a murder suspect - and he would make each role an iconic representation of the common human.

Sivaji Ganesan was honoured at the Afro-Asian Festival at Cairo for his powerhouse performance in the film Veerapandiya Kattabomman. In 1995, he was bestowed with the honorific of Chevalier by the French government.

But it was only in 1997 that Ganesan's contribution to Indian cinema was finally acknowledged by the Indian government, which gave to him the Dadasaheb Phalke Award.

Here are excerpts of an interview with him, done when there was no inkling that he would soon be gone:

Among the numerous awards that you have been given in your career, which is the one that you cherish the most? ?
I would say that the award I got for my role in Veerapandiya Kattabomman at the Afro-Asian Festival is very dear to my heart. Maybe it is because the award was the first in my career. I treasure it very much to this day.

Does it bother you that your signal contribution to the film industry has gone unrecognised for so long? ?
I am way past awards now. But, yes, there is a corner in my heart that does wonder why I wasn't acknowledged at a time when I was actively performing on screen. It hurts me to think about it sometimes.

Even the Dadasaheb Phalke award was conferred on you after a long time. Do you think that politics might have played a part in it?
Well, there may have been favouritism, but I wouldn't agree with the idea that there has been any political intervention in awarding an individual. From what I know about this (award), there is a certain committee that approaches the concerned minister with a list of nominees for the award. If the minister isn't biased or influenced, then the award does find its way to the right candidate. If that is not the case, then anybody who has been lobbying for the award gets it.

The award that was given to me apparently was originally "intended" for someone else. Even I got to know about this from some officials in the government whom I was familiar with.

Which role would you describe as your most satisfying?
There was a role that I played in Kappalottiya Thamizhan. I was portraying the famous Tamil freedom fighter V U Chidambaram. That was one of my favourites. In fact, after seeing the film, his son hugged me and said that he could almost see his father in me. I felt truly honoured that day.
Another exciting film was Deivamagan, where I had to play three different roles. I had to work really hard to make all of them appear distinct.

Did you use any method of preparation when you had to act out historical characters like V O C Kattabomman and Subramania Bharathi?
Well, there was nothing specific. I didn't get the opportunity to read up on them, because in those days it was really hard to come upon any authentic material. My only form of preparation would be to thoroughly go over the script and then to employ my own sensibilities to explore the character.

In the 300 films that you have acted in, you played a variety of roles. How hard was it for you to switch characters with every new performance?
I don't think there was anything exceptional in that. A few years of practice and you get adept at it. But I do feel that the best way of going about it is not to limit your involvement with the character to the professional hours alone. One must try and keep the role in mind all the time. The characters would play on my mind even when I was in the bathroom, or in my private time, over lunch or even during my afternoon siesta.

Was it harder for you to act in a comedy?
I enjoyed working in a comic role tremendously. It's extremely hard to play a comedian. It's the kind of creative challenge that you don't get too often. The film industry was always looking to get me to play more emotional characters, so I didn't get to do too much comedy in my career.

Do you have any favourite actors?
Yes, several, in fact. Among international stars, I have immense respect for Charles Boyar, Ronald Goldman, Balmuni. In Hindi cinema, I think very few can compare to Dilip Kumar. I also like Sanjeev Kumar and Nargis. In Tamil cinema, there are stalwarts like M R Radha and Baliah. These actors are irreplaceable.

And among your co-stars?
I liked working with Padmini. She is a fabulous dancer and she could do a variety of roles, from emotional ones to comedy - an incredibly gifted actress.

Is there any particular character you would like to play if given the chance?
There is one character that I have always longed to play. It's that of Periyar E V Ramaswami. He was the man who gave me the title "Sivaji" after my stage play on the Maratha king (of the same name). It's my dream to portray him on screen.
(Sadly enough, Sivaji Ganesan expired before he could fulfil his dream.)

http://www.nilacharal.com/feature/jambavangal/jb3.html

DHANUSU

10th July 2007, 11:24 PM

TAMIL SUPER STAR SIVAJI GANESAN PASSES AWAY

By Our Movie Correspondent

Breaking news

Sivaji Ganesan, the colossus of Tamil cinema, passed away in Chennai on July 21 at the age of 74. Ganesan was given the name 'Sivaji' by the late 'Periyar' E V Ramaswamy Naicker after his performance as the Marathi warrior king in the stage play 'Sivaji Kanda Indu Saamraajyam'. Ganesan was admitted to the Apollo Hospital on July 12 when he complained of a breathing problem. He also had a cardiac problem since a long time. He was shifted to the intensive care unit (ICU) after some renal complications set in.

Ganesan is survived by his wife, Kamalammal, two sons and two daughters. Sivaji's actor son Prabhu, who was shooting in Switzerland, was expected back in Chennai soon. Kalaipuli Dhanu, who had produced Sivaji's last film, 'Mannavar Chinnavar', a couple of years ago, was in the hospital when he passed away. Ganesan had evidently invited him for lunch only 20 days back.

Dhanu, in a tribute, said that if all Tamil artistes were placed on one side of a scale and Sivaji, who was also referred to as 'Nadigar Thilagam' (star among actors) on the other, he would still outweigh them.

Ganesan was conferred the title of 'Chevalier des Arts et Lettres' (Knight of Arts and Letters) by the Government of France in1994. He was also conferred the Dadasaheb Phalke Award some years ago for his lifetime contribution to Indian cinema.

Such was his imposing screen presence, that all others looked positively Lilliputian when cast opposite him. The sheer range of roles he handled during his long career spanning nearly four decades is breath-taking and one can only reiterate in awe, feeling unequal to the task of summing up the scale and range of his genius.

Whether he was playing a king, a commoner, a lunatic, an intimidating villain, a bubbling cop, a cavorting young man, an octogenarian Shiva devotee or the fire-dash spitting Lord Shiva himself…..you name it, he did it all in such a masterly fashion that there was little scope for any improvement by the "more method, more thinking" actors in India.

An avid theatre-goer, he ran away from home to act in a myriad roles before he landed the hero's part in Parashakti in 1952. He swept the audience off their feet with his histrionic skills, his expressions, his dialogue-delivery, his body language, everything was like a whiff of fresh air. After that he never looked back, whether as the wronged Prince, Manohara, or as a tribal rebel Veerappandia.

Sat Jul 21 22:58:19 2001
Name: sridhar
Email: sridharrt@rediffmail.com
Message: One of the legends of Indian cinema, and inspiration of lakhs of artists around the world. No words can tell the grief and sorrow in our hearts. -- sridhar, bangalore

Sat Jul 21 22:58:25 2001
Name: N.T.RAMIAH
Email: ramiahs512@yahoo.com
Message: The doyen of indian cinema, especially the tamil cine world, has passed away. may his soul rest in peace. heartfelt condolences to his family members & millions of his fans, including me. his era is a golden era in the cine world. long live sivaji ganesan's name & fame.

Sat Jul 21 23:00:33 2001
Name: Swaminathan
Email: prswaminathan@rediffmail.com
Message: My Heartfelt Condolences to the Family members of the Legend Thiru Sivaji Ganesan. His vacancy will never be completely filled in.

Sat Jul 21 23:01:46 2001
Name: g.s.siva kumar
Email: jaysiva@emirates.net.ae
Message: The Greatest star of Indian cinema has gone! It will take ages for another original actor to be born. Totally self-made and ever trying innovation, he was far ahead of his times. We feel sorry for his passing away. May his soul rest in Peace!

Sat Jul 21 23:04:14 2001
Name: Ponnammal
Email: sowmya85in@yahoo.com
Message: Heartfelt condolences. may god give the whole family strength to bear this loss. he was really a great man. he will always remain fresh in our memories. may his soul rest in peace. to prabhu and all his family members too. -- ponnammal, saroja, swaminathan, ranjani, sowmya, thyagesh

Sat Jul 21 23:04:30 2001
Name: NRS manian
Email: nmaniya@chequemail.com
Message: I think that he is a BHARAT RATNA, whether the great(?) politicians accept or not! May the Almighty bless his soul to be rested!

Sat Jul 21 23:04:53 2001
Name: Naresh Kumar
Email: nareshkumar@yahoo.com
Message: Coincidentally we were watching Karnan yesterday. What a great actor and what a great person. We hope his soul finds peace.

Sat Jul 21 23:05:26 2001
Name: jayan john
Email: jayan_john@reiffmail.com
Message: these are words written with great respect and sorrow towards the godfather of tamil films that i share in his family's pain.

Sat Jul 21 23:06:24 2001
Name: vijay
Email: vijaysekaran@rediffmail.com
Message: great man. the tamilians must be very lucky to have had such a talented and passionate actor. may god rest his soul in peace.

Sat Jul 21 23:06:28 2001
Name: Dale srinivas
Email: srindale@hotmail.com
Message: He is one of the greatest personalities of India. Film industry lost great legend. Young acters should follow him -- Dr Dale

Sat Jul 21 23:07:31 2001
Name: R Balaji
Email: rbala36@hotmail.com
Message: I was really shocked to hear the news of his demise as I remember I saw him in close proximity when I think 8 months back he attended a function of the philatelic section of the postal dept and gave a very witty speech with a very majestic voice. I pay my respects and sincere condolences to his family and friends and fans.

Sat Jul 21 23:07:33 2001
Name: vijay kumar
Email: ramvi@yahoo.com
Message: It is indeed a sad moment for Tamil film industry and the Tamil people. He has been a legend in the Indian Film Industry for decades. He has left us creating an unrecoverable vacuum in the hearts of thousands! May his soul rest in peace!! -- With tears, vijay

Sat Jul 21 23:08:31 2001
Name: s gopalakrishnan
Email: sgknan_2000@yahoo.com
Message: i deeply mourn the sudden demise of shri sivaji ganesan who has ruled the southern filmdom as uncrowned king. myself and my family members are really shocked on hearing the message. myself and my family members pray to the almighty to give his family members enough strength to overcome this sudden grief. -- Gopalakrishnan

Sat Jul 21 23:09:34 2001
Name: saravanakumar
Email: pranoav2000@yahoo.co.in
Message: i am very sad to heard the news of mr sivaji ganesan's death. what a great actor he was, i can't relate. he is always living in my heart. i pray to god for his peace... with lots of love, your fan saravanakumar r

Sat Jul 21 23:09:58 2001
Name: sanjay
Email: san.blue@usa.net
Message: Millions of fans including me are shocked and despondent over the legend's death and I still can't digest the fact. I pray to the Almighty that his soul may rest in peace.

Sat Jul 21 23:10:01 2001
Name: biju nair
Email: bijunair76@yahoo.com
Message: a great artist and creative individual. very difficult to describe him. he was always low profile, though such a great achiever. may god rest his soul in peace. i stand by his family members (prabhu etc) at this juncture of emotional turmoil that they are facing. convey my regards to the family. thanx. we greatly miss SHIVAJI

Sat Jul 21 23:10:11 2001
Name: swaroop
Email: swaroop_style@rediffmail.com
Message: shivaji uncle is the actor's dictionary. may his soul rest in peace. many ppl feel that we hav lost a great actor but he has left behind heaps of lessons on acting so if ppl follow it we can still see him. an actor never dies. his work will always be treasured.

Sat Jul 21 23:10:32 2001
Name: ramesh v
Email: rameshvin@rediffmail.com
Message: Great Man Mr V C 'Sivaji' Ganesan has gone. He is one of the greatest actor of all times in the tamil cinema and the world cinema. May his soul rest in peace.

Sat Jul 21 23:10:33 2001
Name: karthikeyan
Email: msp_karthik@hotmail.com
Message: Years to come, people will find it very hard to match his prowess in acting for he is the very bible when it comes to acting. Today is indeed a sad day for Tamilians. May his soul rest in peace.

Sat Jul 21 23:12:00 2001
Name: Prabhu Shankhar
Email: cprabhu73@rediffmail.com
Message: I feel very sad and was terribly shocked to hear the news. Words cannot express it. It is an end of an era. Undoubtedly he is THE GREATEST OF THEM ALL.

Sat Jul 21 23:12:22 2001
Name: SKThamilselvan
Email: sktselvan@rediffmail.com
Message: I salute the greatest actor who lived in the characters he acted. Many of his characters like in thangapathakkam, babu vasanthamaligai will not fade from our memory for decades to come . May his soul rest in peace.

Sat Jul 21 23:13:45 2001
Name: P Ravi Shankar Sharma
Email: ravishankarsarma@rediffmail.com
Message: He has done good things, all in his career and god has given ample time and age for him to render his godly service to society. As his tenure is completed, he (god) has invited him to his place. MAY GOD BLESS HIS SUCCESSORS.

Sat Jul 21 23:14:05 2001
Name: Rajasekhar Balakrishnan
Email: rsekhar_b@hotmail.com
Message: We are deeply pained on hearing the news. We wish GOD gives all strength to the family of Nadigar Thilagam during this period of loss. We pray for his soul to rest in peace. NRIs of Delaware

Sat Jul 21 23:14:16 2001
Name: jayakar
Email: jayakars@rediffmail.com
Message: it's very sad that a great veteran and a humble human being has left us. it's a great loss not only to the film world but to our whole country.

Sat Jul 21 23:15:06 2001
Name: Raji Venkatakrishnan
Email: rajikal@rediffmail.com
Message: Thiru Shivaji Ganesan's passing away is the end of an era. This is an irreplaceable loss to the Tamil film world. There was no one like him before nor will there ever be another 'Shivaji' ever. May his soul rest in peace. -- Ardent Fan.

http://www.rediff.com/news/2001/jul/23ganes.htm

DHANUSU

10th July 2007, 11:33 PM

Sabash Meena (1958):

Performers: Sivaji Ganesan, Chandrababu, SV Rangarao...

This is my first ever reckoning on Chevalier Sivaji Ganesan’s elite sense of humor. Many people have the image of Sivaji Ganesan as an artist with only a good melodramatic sense but that’s a glaring misconception and this scene certainly proves that.

Sivaji and Chandababu are friends who are passionate about acting in stage dramas. However, Sivaji’s father believes his son lacks proper objective in life and so sends him to his old-time friend (SV Rangarao) in Madras who is a very stern disciplinarian. Sivaji hates this. So he takes his friend (Chandrababu) along with him to Madras. He then sends Chandrababu to meet SV Rangarao in Sivaji’s identity so that Sivaji can enjoy a ‘life’ the way he wants to. There begins the comedy riot with lots of hilarious and spontaneous situations with some great acting. At one point, Sivaji’s father comes to madras to visit Sivaji and fix marriage with SV Rangarao’s daughter (Saroja Devi).

The scene begins. Sivaji and Chandrababu are at office. Initially sivaji’s father enters. Sivaji acts as the manager with a series of shouts over Chandrababu who sits as the typist covering almost his entire face with a hat. Sivaji’s father is elated and praises his son. Sivaji’s reaction as he recognizes his father watching him from behind is absolutely amazing. He shifts from tone of being arrogant to respectful with enormous ease. His father leaves, SV rangarao enters some moments later. Now Chandrababu plays the manager whereas Sivaji sits as the typist. A series of effortless scorns from Chandrababu makes SV Rangarao proud of how he has pruned this young man. SV Rangarao is a class act with his repeated monologue of “correct correct” in this movie. The way Chandrababu shouts at Rangarao with his head down“Will you get out of this place, I don’t want to see anybody right now!!!” and the way he changes that arrogance to complete shiver in the next frame is mind-blowing. Kudos to that great and unavailable actor!

Here comes the best part. Now both SV Rangarao and Sivaji’s father come in together. The two youngsters who start rejoicing of their extraordinary feat come to a stunning silence on seeing the old men standing together at good distance. What happens? Sivaji’s father speaks to sivaji on the inherent assumption that Rangarao also watches Sivaji while Rangarao watches Chandrababu thinking that Chandrababu is addressed by Sivaji’s father. Both old men think they are speaking to the right person and that’s where the beauty of this scene lies.

This is one of Tamil Cinema’s most original and funny moments which was strongly inspired in Ullathai Allitha by Sundar C in recent past...

Sivaji Ganesan is certainly the greatest film artist ver to have born on the soil of India. But Tamil Film Industry has done very little to showcase this briliant talent to the people of India. His sons Ramkumar and Prabu and Dushyanta should try to create a beautiful website of Sivagi Ganesan from Parashakti to Padeyappa or Devarmagan with all the relevent details and important stills from every film so that people could understand his capacity,talent, variety, depth, and emotions he portrayed on the screes. Even now when I see his film s like Pasamalar, I literally cry. I have not seen some of his fine films like Rangoon Radha,Kalyanpanniyum Bramhachari, Tenaliraman, VeliattuPillai etc. His sons should feel proud to show case the stills from all his films in a website at the earliest. It is strange Tamilians have enarmous love for the people of other states then of their own.

Posted by Joseph Rodricks on 11-DEC-05

http://mboard.rediff.com/board/board.php?boardid=movies2005apr26spice

DHANUSU

10th July 2007, 11:44 PM

I have rarely liked Tamil cinema, though I have thoroughly enjoyed the music therein. Nevertheless, exceptions exist, and this particular one is brilliant in what is depicted, as well as in the music woven into this scene. Shivaji Ganesan was at one of his best performances in this movie. What I liked in this scene (and Karna is one of my favourite characters in the Mahabharata) is the sheer arrogance that Karna portrays when he is unfazed at the departure of his charioteer. NTR was always the best Sri Krishna in cinema (so much so, that I am told he was actually worshipped in AP where people would offer him an aarti every day or so it goes). I would like to thank sandycec for sharing this. The song's (sung in the raspy voice of Seergayyi/~zhi Govindarajan) meaning is as follows (thanks to my dear friend for sharing this with me): (Corrections welcome)

The most beautiful amongst souls
Shall never fall to the fatal tell of time
Thus, say the greatest of men, Karna
Prepare for the fate that shall be thine.

Thaaikku nee magan illai

Thambikku annan illai

Oor pazhi etraayadaa

Naanum un pazhi kondenadaa

You aren't a son unto your own mother (referring to Kunti's desertion)
And not a brother to each of your sibling (the Pandavas)
Oh! How you bore the insinuations!
I too shall be your sinner by my cunning. (The ploys Krishna uses to bare Karna)

Mannavar paNi erkum
KaNNan paNi seyya

Unnadi paNivaanadaa

Manniththu arulvaayadaa, Karnaa

He who is served by the greatest kings
(That) Krishna, to serve you, is ready
By bowing to your magnanimity.
Karna, will you grace me with mercy?

To repay the hand that fed you
You pledged your loyalty to the vile Kauravaa
And fell in the trap of great deception, Karna.
(Though) the greatest knave is the son of Vasudeva.

The roles of Karna and Krishna have always amazed me and leant me fodder for several clever debates with religious fanatics as well as those who love calling themselves atheists (such merriment one finds in hopping on either side of the debate!! :-D ). For all the virtue that Krishna claims (point is, he never claimed any of that!), he was the greatest liar on the "good" side and for all the filth thrown his way, Karna was the purest drop of gold in the "evil" side (Bhisma pitamaha was duty bound and faltered when facing Shikandi. Not done!!). The Mahabharata is one of the finest epics with so many sub-stories within it, that an entire movie industry could thrive on adapting them into movies (but our industry is busy copying each other when we are tired of copying from Hollywood).
Neither Krishna nor Karna were working towards setting an example for posterity. Krishna was aware of how the world was supposed to go and did just that. Karna was aware of what he was supposed to do and he did just that. Now who is to measure the greatness of each of them? Karna was the absolute measure of a man's worth. What a man can ever aspire to be, he was. His charity knew no bounds while he never asked anything from anyone. When Duryodhana offered him his friendship, the young man who was shunned by everyone as a charioteer's son, was overwhelmed and he embraced this friendship. Duryodhana was not conniving when he offered him his friendship as it was too early for him to know Karna's true worth. But people mocked their friendship. Karna lived through it all on the power of his mettle and inner core. When people and fate deserted him, he walked on and did what was expected to be done in his position. He lied but once (to his teacher, the great Parashurama) and paid heavily for it. His was a life filled with suffering and denial. He was never given his due and even Krishna who knew it all, never openly supported him or took care of him (well, he is the Param-dhama). Arjuna symbolised the fate of one who is protected disproportionately by the partial Lord. Karna symbolised the fate of he who has such a strong core, that the only way the Lord can maintain His station is by bring that soul to his knees. Ullathil nalla ullam, urangaadhu.

Here in singapore ,Yesterday night I went for walking ,hearing music and took a seat in a park ..A guy (security officer with uniform) came and sat besides me ..I happened to see his badge and surprised by the name "SIVAJI GANESAN" .

I removed my head phone and asked him "Unga Per Sivaji ganesan-a?" ..He replied me "Yes.. Sivaji thaan ippo kalakkitirukkee" assuming that I must be a rajini fan ..I said "No ..I am taking about Nadigar Thilagam ..Only for 'SIVAJI GANESAN" and I am a NT veriyan" ..He replied "Oh! Are you like my father who put this name for me? Chinna vayasa irukeenga :) "

He is 32 years old and a Rajini fan ..I asked him "Are you proud of holding this name "..He replied " Ofcourse ..After all he is GOD of acting and Our super star also his fan"

His father should have put this name in mid 70's ..NT has such a crazy fans in singapore too. :D

Cinemarasigan

11th July 2007, 12:38 PM

Here in singapore ,Yesterday night I went for walking ,hearing music and took a seat in a park ..A guy (security officer with uniform) came and sat besides me ..I happened to see his badge and surprised by the name "SIVAJI GANESAN" .

I removed my head phone and asked him "Unga Per Sivaji ganesan-a?" ..He replied me "Yes.. Sivaji thaan ippo kalakkitirukkee" assuming that I must be a rajini fan ..I said "No ..I am taking about Nadigar Thilagam ..Only for 'SIVAJI GANESAN" and I am a NT veriyan" ..He replied "Oh! Are you like my father who put this name for me? Chinna vayasa irukeenga :) "

He is 32 years old and a Rajini fan ..I asked him "Are you proud of holding this name "..He replied " Ofcourse ..After all he is GOD of acting and Our super star also his fan"

His father should have put this name in mid 70's ..NT has such a crazy fans in singapore too. :D
In my native near Tanjore, there are atleast about 40 people are named "Sivaji ganesan", who were born in mid 60's. There are only about 150 houses.

joe

11th July 2007, 12:40 PM

Nagesh: I revered him, thought he was the last word on everything to do with acting. One day, after a shot -- he normally needs only one take -- he looked at me and asked, "What do you think?"

I said I thought maybe we could go for another take. At once, he told the director to take again. I felt very bad, very small.

After the shot was canned, I went up to him and said, "Anna, what is this? I only made a comment, how can you listen to me and take me so seriously?"

He told me, "My boy, there are lakhs of people like you out there. If you thought that take could have been improved, lakhs of others might think so too -- only, by then, it would have been too late. So for me, it makes sense to go with your gut feeling, to do another take."

:thumbsup:

joe

11th July 2007, 12:44 PM

Mammoootty: "I won't presume to talk about Sivaji's acting. When it comes to the Chevalier, I am not an actor, but merely one among millions of his fans.

"There are many people in the industry who were inspired to enter films by watching him act -- I am one of those."

:thumbsup:

joe

11th July 2007, 12:45 PM

Here in singapore ,Yesterday night I went for walking ,hearing music and took a seat in a park ..A guy (security officer with uniform) came and sat besides me ..I happened to see his badge and surprised by the name "SIVAJI GANESAN" .

I removed my head phone and asked him "Unga Per Sivaji ganesan-a?" ..He replied me "Yes.. Sivaji thaan ippo kalakkitirukkee" assuming that I must be a rajini fan ..I said "No ..I am taking about Nadigar Thilagam ..Only for 'SIVAJI GANESAN" and I am a NT veriyan" ..He replied "Oh! Are you like my father who put this name for me? Chinna vayasa irukeenga :) "

He is 32 years old and a Rajini fan ..I asked him "Are you proud of holding this name "..He replied " Ofcourse ..After all he is GOD of acting and Our super star also his fan"

His father should have put this name in mid 70's ..NT has such a crazy fans in singapore too. :D
In my native near Tanjore, there are atleast about 40 people are named "Sivaji ganesan", who were born in mid 60's. There are only about 150 houses.

:D :D

smith1

11th July 2007, 01:00 PM

Regarding the praise of hindi actors, it is all lip sympathy. When NT died, not a single hindi actor condoled his death. Only Amitabh did so, that too the next day only citing personal commitments as a reason (???).

Regarding the dada saheb phalke award, NT's name was doing the rounds when narasimha rao was PM. He gave it to ANR.

Then when deve gowda was PM, it was given to rajkumar.

No prizes for guessing why.

The next year it was given to dilip kumar. When a hue & cry was raised, an assurance was given that it would be given to NT the following year.

So much for these awards & the persons who chose the awardees.

Another disgusting incident happened during the International Film festival which was supposed to be held at calcutta. NT was supposed to be the chief guest. A hue & cry was raised that a non bengali was inaugurating a festival. NT was subsequently replaced.

So much for talk of film industry being one big family & unity in diversity etc.,

Sheer nonsense.

joe

11th July 2007, 01:10 PM

unity in diversity

:x :evil: Don't make me emotional :oops:

sriranga

11th July 2007, 02:00 PM

Failing to recognise sivaji's acting talents by not giving him his due in terms of national award for best actor and delaying and reluctantly honouring him with dada saheb palke award, speaks volumes about the mentality of people who decided the awards.

if we still remember the following people :
1. veerapandiya kattaboman
2. bharatiar
3. kappalotiya thamizhan

It will be a long list. i will stop here.

we owe a big thanks to Sivaji.

kannannn

11th July 2007, 03:20 PM

The next year it was given to dilip kumar. When a hue & cry was raised, an assurance was given that it would be given to NT the following year.
When asked what he thought about the award, he said: "Kodukkanumnu nenachirukkanga - koduthirukkanga.."

Manidhar rombave varuthappattu poyirundhar.

Cinemarasigan

11th July 2007, 03:27 PM

The next year it was given to dilip kumar. When a hue & cry was raised, an assurance was given that it would be given to NT the following year.
When asked what he thought about the award, he said: "Kodukkanumnu nenachirukkanga - koduthirukkanga.."

Manidhar rombave varuthappattu poyirundhar.
Yes.. Every year his name was discussed but they were giving it to somebody else.. When it was given, it was very late for such a great actor..

joe

11th July 2007, 03:31 PM

The next year it was given to dilip kumar. When a hue & cry was raised, an assurance was given that it would be given to NT the following year.
When asked what he thought about the award, he said: "Kodukkanumnu nenachirukkanga - koduthirukkanga.."

Manidhar rombave varuthappattu poyirundhar.
Yes.. Every year his name was discussed but they were giving it to somebody else.. When it was given, it was very late for such a great actor..

The best award he got is the respect given by TN people when he left us. Even the policemen controlling the crwod moved in tears.

Cinemarasigan

11th July 2007, 03:39 PM

The next year it was given to dilip kumar. When a hue & cry was raised, an assurance was given that it would be given to NT the following year.
When asked what he thought about the award, he said: "Kodukkanumnu nenachirukkanga - koduthirukkanga.."

Manidhar rombave varuthappattu poyirundhar.
Yes.. Every year his name was discussed but they were giving it to somebody else.. When it was given, it was very late for such a great actor..

The best award he got is the respect given by TN people when he left us. Even the policemen controlling the crwod moved in tears.
True.. Though there was a very huge crowd, there was no misbehaviour at all..

joe

11th July 2007, 09:53 PM

Bharatiraja: There are many dozens of people who taught us how Tamil should be written -- Thiruvalluvar, Mahakavi Subramanya Bharati, Perarignar Annadurai, Kalaignar Karunanidhi, so many of them.

But in Tamil history, there is only one man who taught us how Tamil should be spoken, and that is Chevalier Sivaji Ganesan. He was a phonetic dictionary for the language."

In picking Parasakthi as the movie of the month for July 2001, I mentioned that it marked the beginning of an era in Tamil cinema by introducing 'Sivaji' Ganesan to the silver screen. Sadly, the same month now marks the end of the era as the legendary actor passed away on Saturday, July 21. The bulk of his movie career and most of his memorable performances happened before I was old enough to understand and enjoy movies. But some of his later performances gave ample notice of his immense talent and I have also enjoyed several of his older movies on video. Here is a short tribute to the great actor.
Seeing Parasakthi made me realise that Sivaji's debut was unlike that of the other actors I have known. While actors like his peer MGR and later, Rajnikanth and Kamalhassan, appeared in small roles initially before climbing the rungs of success, Sivaji was perched at the top right from the beginning. His performance in his very first film belied his inexperience in front of the camera as he effortlessly portrayed the youth disgusted at the way society treats him and his sister. While his long monologue in the climactic courtroom scene is legendary, he made his mark with almost every scene he appeared in, be it crying, delivering strong dialogs or dancing a few steps.

Both MGR and Sivaji laid out their cinematic paths clearly with MGR being the mass hero and Sivaji being the class hero. While MGR swept up the adulation of the masses with his 'man of the people' roles and squeaky clean image, Sivaji impressed the connoisseurs with his versatility, wide variety of roles and acting talent. Image was no concern as he played good guy and bad guy, old man and young man, handsome playboy and scarred loner, with equal ease. His rich baritone voice and talent at reeling off pages of dialogs with perfect tone and timing made so many of his roles memorable and his lip-syncing for the songs frequently made people forget that he actually had a playback singer.

Some of his most famous roles early in his career were as historical and mythological personalities. On screen, he was transformed into whoever he was depicting and people began identifying those historical figures based on his portrayal. When we talk about personalities such as 'Chatrapati' Sivaji, Veera Pandiya Katta Bomman or Karnan, the image we conjure up is invariably based on Sivaji's appearance as the character. That is the impact his performances have had on public consciousness. His majestic bearing, stylised walk and booming voice were some of the features that stood him in good stead in mythologicals with his role as Lord Siva in Thiruvilaiyaadal being a prime example.

Among social roles too, there is almost no role that Sivaji has not played in Tamil cinema. Fans looked forward to his movies, confident that he would present them with a new persona, replete with a new getup and unique mannerisms, in each new movie and rarely were they disappointed. The affectionate brother in Paasamalar, the strict police inspector in Thanga Padakkam, the haughty lawyer in Gowravam, the naadaswaram astist in Thillaanaa Mohanaambal and the loyal servant in Padikkaatha Medhai are just a few of the characters that cannot be forgotten that easily by Tamil cinema viewers. He dabbled in double roles as early as Uthama Puthiran, effortlessly distinguishing between the two roles. Multiple roles were handled just as easily, with the three roles in Dheiva Magan and the unprecedented(and unmatched) nine roles in Navarathri.

One of the earliest movies in which I saw Sivaji on the big screen was Vellai Roja, the crime thriller where he portrayed both the calm church father as well as the loud but efficient police inspector. Since Sivaji had his roots in stage dramas, some of his later performances were seen as overacting but he proved that under the right director, he still delivered the goods. Two such memorable performances were in Mudhal Mariyaadhai and Thevar Magan. He displayed sadness and comedy in equal portions in Bharatiraja's Mudhal Mariyaadhai, where he played a man wedded to a shrew and found enjoyment in the company of a younger woman. As Kamalhassan's strict but affectionate father in Thevar Magan, he was majestic and his quick end left us wishing he had a larger role. It was unfortunate that none of the other directors utilised his potential fully. His last significant role turned out to be as Rajnikanth's father in Padaiyappa while his final role was as a good-hearted grandfather trying to unite his grandson with his lover in Poopparikka Varugirom. But neither of these were roles deserving of bringing down the curtain on such an illustrious career.

It was one of the cruel ironies that Sivaji, who found so much fame outside Indian shores, never won the national award for acting from the Indian Government. The only consolation for this is that the awards themselves have become highly politicised, as evident from the fact that MGR won the award for Rickshakkaaran. But there was no shortage of accolades from other sources for Sivaji. He won the Afro-Asian film festival award in 1960 for his performance in Veerapandiya Kattabomman and was awarded the title of Chevalier, the Order of Arts and Literature by the Ministry of Culture, Government of France. At home, he received the Padmashri and the Dadasaheb Phalke award. The only recognition he received at the national lever for his acting was the special jury award for Thevar Magan.

After close to 50 years in the Tamil cinema, the thespian has finally passed away. He will definitely live on in our hearts through his movies but his death is a colossal loss to the Tamil film industry and its millions of fans and he will definitely be missed.

May his soul rest in peace

http://www.geocities.com/bbreviews/views/sivaji.html

DHANUSU

11th July 2007, 10:31 PM

Kalai Pudhalvanukku Silai Vadippom

Late actor thespian Chevalier Sivaji Ganesan’s statue unveiled in the stretch of Marina Beach by the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.

It was a long felt dream for millions of fans of the late actor and in fact was the charter of demand from the film and theatre industry as a collective bunch.

Filmy style it was some tense moments for the last few days when some activists approached the court on the grounds that the statue might obstruct the full view of The Mahatma not far from the site. The legal angle ensured the event in the limelight which otherwise should have been a take it for granted issue. When finally the courts refused to stay the installation and unveiling it was joyous and thankful moments from the entire Tamil Nadu film industry and politicians.

The occasion turned out to be a mix of film industry, theatre artists, journalists, politicians, executive and common man. Invitees turned emotional when they had the opportunity of praising the late actor.

It was some kind of irony that such an event to pay respect to the doyen of Indian film industry has to be realized years after his death and getting tangled in a legal web of course for a short period. People following the career of the actor it would not be surprise as it has been the case. The last 70 years of Indian film industry has seen numerous talents acknowledged regionally, nationally and internationally. Of all the talents it is a proven and acknowledged fact that Sivaji Ganesan would stand tall among all of them and even all the rest of the contribution would not even stand match to the contribution of Chevalier.

The man born humble took cinema to new heights and set benchmarks in acting which is still a benchmark never to be surpassed or equaled. He gave new meaning to acting and traveled the various contours of acting. He was first internationally conferred with the Egyptian golden award way back in 1964 and as a feather to his cap was honored the highest theatre award from the French government “Chevalier”. It was much later the Indian government woke up to the fact that they have failed to honor the prize of Indian cinema when then rest of the world could see and appreciate his talent and it was a belated “Dada Sahib Palke“award. And now the statue signs off the best respect and honor we can to the real talent.

It was a pleasure that we are contemporaries of the greatest film talent the world has ever seen.

1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
This will be a classic any day, 17 September 2005

Author: murali83 from United States

What can i say about this movie. Even a kid in Tamil Nadu born today will know the speech that Sivaji Ganesan made in this movie.

Songs are extremely nice and sivaji is awesome in this movie.

What caused Veerapandiya Kattabomman to revolt may be shrouded in mystery. But revolt he did and paid the ultimate price of giving up his life. who better than Sivaji Ganesan to etch out this role. I suspect the real V. Kattabomman would not have been half as magnificent but he did deserve the belated accolades bestowed upon him through Sivaji.

With its taut screenplay and powerful dialogues together with a spirited performance from Sivaji and the ensemble cast, no wonder the movie went on to become such a monster hit. Though dialogues of ParAsakthi, ManOhara, ThiruvilayAdal, ThillAna MohanAmbAL etc (incidentally all starring Sivaji) were extremely popular with people, I don't think any movie dialogue had the reach of VBKB - Jackson Durai conversation. You can still see 5 year old kids performing the scene in KaNmaNi PoongA kind of programmes, even after 40 years.

1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
WOW!, 18 March 2003
Author: learnnew from Florida

There are movies that can be reviewed. And there are movies one has to watch in wonder and salute it! We're incapable in our limited intellect and capacities to even comment about them. We just reverently watch them and salute them! This movie is of the second kind. Rather I should say the performance of Shivaji Ganesan in this movie is of the second kind!

What a movie! This is an all-time classic! Shivaji Ganesan's career role! He got the best actor award in the Afro-Asian film festival at Cairo for this movie. One of the best performances ever by any actor in any movie. The supporting cast is uniformly good. When someone is inspired, he or she gives up all his individuality and in that surrender something everlasting is produced. This is the case in the movie. Shivaji is clearly inspired. Whew! After watching the movie, your step, your look, your demeanor will have a confidence and a swagger for days! DON'T MISS IT IF YOU GET A CHANCE!

1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
All-time classic, 7 January 2002
Author: (chembai@yahoo.com) from Chennai, India

A classic for all time, Sivaji's portrayal of Kattabomman is awesome, and his famous lines have become part of popular culture. Grandiose sets, elaborate war sequences, terrific music and fine lyrics, magnificent dialogue, competetnt acting from the rest of the cast....Don't miss it for the world.

Sivaji Ganesan brings the real kattabomman in front of our eyes. The powerful dialogs pierces swords in our minds. The movie portrays how the British East India Company set up trading centers, loaned money with huge amount of interest to the nawabs, and gained the tax collecting rights from the palayams(group of villages) in the south.

The brave king kattabomman says, "if you want money we will lend it to you, or give it free for you, but you cannot try to control us and get tax from us". He started the freedom struggle with his fearless attitude refusing to bow down to the empire.

“I wish to tell you how happy I am at setting foot on the sacred soil of Kayathar. It finds an honored place in the history of Free India because of its association with the immortal memory of Veerapandya Kattabomman. He was one of the first martyrs of India’s freedom struggle who was hanged by the British in the 18th century. I am sad that the name of Kattabomman and the heroic exploits of him and his brother are not very well known to the people in north India” (A.B. Vajpayee, then PM of India, July 5, 2000)

“The tendency is to refer to the 1857 battle as the First War of Independence. But long before the North woke up to British imperialism and fought the foreign rulers, here in this land, you had Veer Pandya Kattabomman.” (L.K.Advani, then Home Minister, May 27, 1997)

I guess these statements by these leaders have had little effect, for yesterday as I went to watch ‘The Rising’ here in Sharjah (it is being screened in not less than 5 halls in Sharjah alone!), the promos, the ads and write-ups in the local papers, the hoardings and the fliers all glorified the image of Mangal Pandey as the ‘India’s First Freedom Fighter’; the same tag-line has crept into reviews on the film in various websites.

None of my North Indian friends have heard of Veerapandiya Kattabomman who waged his war more than 50 year before 1857, while we have all read Mangal Pandey’s act as part of our history lessons. I confess I have never studied about Kattabomman while at school; though I notice with joy that he is part of the current day school curriculum, at least in TN: http://www.tn.gov.in/schsyll/class08/class08HE.pdf.

True, I never had Kattabomman’s exploits as part of my school syllabus, yet I knew all about him. For Sivaji’s majestic portrayal of the hero made an indelible impact on me, as it would have surely made on anyone who has watched it. Even Advani, while speaking on Kattabomman had this to say: “I have not seen many Tamil films. But a long time back, I saw a Tamil film by the name Kattabomman. Sivaji Ganesan's portrayal of the local folk hero was superb!”

* * * *

Paanchalankurichi is a hamlet 18 kms from Thoothukkudi. It was here that Veerapandian, the 47th king of Paanchalankurichi was born on January 3rd, 1760 to Jagaveera Kattabomman and Aarmugathammal. The Kattabommans traced their ancestry to Bommu, who was a minister in King Jagaveera Pandian’s durbar in Azhagiya Veerapandiapuram, as Ottapidaram of today was known as. Bommu, or Gettibommu was he was called, had migrated from the Vijayanagar region of what is Andhra Pradesh today and was a fearless warrior as well. After Jagaveera Pandiyan died issueless, Bommu ascended the throne. Veerapandian became the king of Panchalankurichi on February 7, 1790, and ruled for 9 years. He opposed the East India Company’s tyranny openly, and waged a lone war, till he was hanged by the British on October 16th 1799.

It was the story of this brave chieftain that Sakthi Krishnaswami adapted for the stage for Sivaji Ganesan’s drama troupe in the late 50s, and Sivaji won accolades acting in the title role. B. R.Panthulu then expressed his desire to make a film on Kattabomman.

In 1957, the Central Government had celebrated with great fanfare, the centenary of the ‘First War of Independence’, and M.P.Sivagananam, the leader of thamizharasu kazhagam, lamented aloud history forgetting the bravery of Kattabomman.

When Panthulu and Sivaji set about making Kattbomman the movie, Sivagnanam was appointed the head of the committee set up for discussion and research on Kattabomman and his times. ‘varalaaRu, thirai amaippu aaraaichi kuzhu’ , as this committee was called had Sakthi Krishnaswami, Sivaji Ganesan, B.R.Panthulu, K.Singamuthu and P.A.Kumar as its members.

They came up with an engrossing story and worked on it to create a superb screenplay. Sakthi Krishnaswami penned the immortal dialogues. Panthulu picked the best artistes that Tamil cinema had to offer at that time, and spared no expense in making the movie.

Raaja_rasigan,
Recently I read a book written by IsaiGnani .He wrote a whole chapter about NT ,his love for NT and his experience of NT funeral procession ,in which Ilayaraja was standing near NT's body through out the whole procession ,while Ilayaraja had high fever.

raaja_rasigan

12th July 2007, 10:55 AM

Raaja_rasigan,
Recently I read a book written by IsaiGnani .He wrote a whole chapter about NT ,his love for NT and his experience of NT funeral procession ,in which Ilayaraja was standing near NT's body through out the whole procession ,while Ilayaraja had high fever.

I have seen this in TV... Along with Ilayaraaja , Rajini will also be there....

Nakeeran

12th July 2007, 12:55 PM

One of the best scenes in Devar Magan :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ul9Xvjt83eI&NR=1

After the bloodbath, Kamal rushing to leave the village only to get a peace of his mind from Devar !

Word by word, its wonderful exchange of emotions between 2 generations.

How casually, this great man conveys his thoughts to the next generation !

And how respectful is the next generation ! always hiding behind the big pillar but clearly conveys his intentions>>>> move away from this rough and tough society .

Finally, the big man had to remind about his responsibilities for the society .

Actually, Devar starts the scene as a tough person but finally at the end , he becomes an emotional Father .

pathu naal irukka maateegalaa ?

Ungala thaane nambanum . Indha veetla vera yaaru irukaaga !

The son while going away, he slips a bit &>>>. immediately, the blood relationship comes out spontaneously >> Yappa mella !

Great characterisation 8-)

NOBODY TODAY WILL BE GIVEN SUCH CLOSEUP SHOTS

joe

12th July 2007, 01:07 PM

Nakeeran,
wonderful Narration :D

Cinemarasigan

12th July 2007, 01:37 PM

One of the best scenes in Devar Magan :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ul9Xvjt83eI&NR=1

After the bloodbath, Kamal rushing to leave the village only to get a peace of his mind from Devar !

Word by word, its wonderful exchange of emotions between 2 generations.

How casually, this great man conveys his thoughts to the next generation !

And how respectful is the next generation ! always hiding behind the big pillar but clearly conveys his intentions>>>> move away from this rough and tough society .

Finally, the big man had to remind about his responsibilities for the society .

Actually, Devar starts the scene as a tough person but finally at the end , he becomes an emotional Father .

pathu naal irukka maateegalaa ?

Ungala thaane nambanum . Indha veetla vera yaaru irukaaga !

The son while going away, he slips a bit &>>>. immediately, the blood relationship comes out spontaneously >> Yappa mella !

This is regard to the incident which we were discussing it earlier. Out of sheer curiosity I checked up with an authoritative source. It was like this.

As I had mentioned earlier it was in Aug 2004 and the occasion was the film city function. NT was accompanied by Kamal to the function.Rajini had not turned up for the function. Both NT and Kamal were seated in the front row in front of the dias. Kamal was not there in the dias.

At the fag end of the function, JJ during her speech mentioned about NT, praising him and she seems to have remarked that it was a honour to have NT at the function.

This is what had happened on that day. No walkouts or anything of that sort was there.

But it is undeniable that this feeling of not having given due respect to NT was there among some of the film fraternity present there and who were not physicall present there but nothing came out in the open till Rajini touched upon this during the Chevaliar function some 8 months later.

To all,

This is not to absolve anybody of any blame nor this is an attempt to downride anybody for not speaking on behalf of NT. Just to put the record straight. Hope everybody will take it in the right spirit.

Regards

smith1

12th July 2007, 06:32 PM

Murali,

I don't wish to dispute Ur views but I remember reading in the mags that rajini was also present & that he & kamal were seated on the dias with NT in the front row.

But since u say it is from a source present at the function, I guess it is true.

Not only during JJ's time, even otherwise NT never fully got the respect he deserved during his lifetime.

smith1

12th July 2007, 06:36 PM

I was seeing an interview with KSR on TV recently. He mentioned that during the shooting of a particular scene in padayappa, NT did a scene in a particular way. KSR was not too happy, but was hesitant to tell NT.

He looked at rajini who lowered his head. Sensing their discomfiture NT asked for a retake & did the scene again to the full approval of KSR.

KSR recounted this incident & praised NT. But was it really a praise ?

I wonder.

Raghu

12th July 2007, 08:41 PM

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sivaji_Ganesan

joe

13th July 2007, 06:59 AM

Murali Sir,
I attended Chevalie function ,but not Thiraippada vizha function ..But what I mentioned was what I heard and read that time ..But yours must be more authentic. Thanks for clarification.

joe

13th July 2007, 09:38 AM

See..This kuththattam from NT :lol:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGeKwl5r6no

Murali Srinivas

13th July 2007, 04:04 PM

Dear Joe,

After a long time I am watching this dance. Thyagam was another example of the shrewdness of Balajee, the producer. He knew the pulse of NT fan as well as that of the public and he selected the movie (from other languages) and purchased the rights. 90%, he hit the bull's eye.

Coming back to the scene, though this may not qualify as a dance based on today's standards, it was one of the enjoyable piece during those times. Such type of dances without songs were rare and IR did a remarkable piece. Fatafat was all grace and NT showed one and all how a fully drunken man would behave in such a situation.

Thanks a lot Joe.

Regards

smith1

13th July 2007, 04:15 PM

I think thyagam was one of those rare sivaji-balaji films which flopped at the B.O.

joe

13th July 2007, 04:26 PM

I think thyagam was one of those rare sivaji-balaji films which flopped at the B.O.

:omg: Thiyagam is a silver Jublee movie :)

Murali Srinivas

13th July 2007, 04:52 PM

Dear Smith(1),

I thought you were in the know how of many things. How come you commited this? As Joe had pointed out Thyagam released on 4th March 1978 celebrated 175 days (25 Weeks - Silver Jublie) on 25th Aug 1978. In fact I had watched the movie on the first as well on the 175 th day in our Madurai - Chinthamani theatre.

murali,
Probably I mistook thyagam for some other movie. But was it not the movie with lakshmi as heroine? I thot it flopped.

rockydeva

13th July 2007, 05:23 PM

Paasa malar was shown on raj tv last week.

murali,
Probably I mistook thyagam for some other movie. But was it not the movie with lakshmi as heroine? I thot it flopped.

last week RAJTV-la thAn nAn parthEn :noteeth:

Murali Srinivas

13th July 2007, 06:30 PM

murali,
Probably I mistook thyagam for some other movie. But was it not the movie with lakshmi as heroine? I thot it flopped.

Smith,

I think you confused Thyagam with Unakaaga Naan. It was also produced by Balaji and Lakshmi was the heroine. This came in 1976. A remake of Hindi Namak Haram, due to the political situation prevailing at that point of time (Perunthalaivar had pased away and NT had joined Indira Congress) it failed at the BO.

Regards

DHANUSU

14th July 2007, 06:42 AM

Shall I call this as coincidence or destiny !!

Maratha warrior Chathrapathi Shivaji was crowned on July 21, 1674. Doordarshan's documentary on the warrior, with the title role essayed by Sivaji Ganesan was first shown on July 21, 1974. Sivaji Ganesan expired on July 21, 2001.

Old, black and white movies contain a certain charm. Especially the historicals. Withstrong storylines, grand settings, swordplays and lots of double and triple crossings,they rarely fail to entertain. Uthama Puthiran, released in 1958, is one of my favorite movies from those times. Adapted from Alexander Dumas' The Man in the Iron Mask, it combines the best elements of historicals in a delightful mixture. It hasgood performances, melodious music, an engaging screenplay and is hugely entertaining.
It is a joyous time for everyone in Malarpuri when the queen of the land becomes pregnant.Everyone except her brother(and commander of the army) Naganathan(Nambiar) who has hiseye on the throne. So he pays one of the maids to deliver the newborn to him. He thenproceeds to hand it over to his henchman Somu, ordering it to be killed. But the queen gives birth to twins and the king, ever suspicious of Naganathan, passes an orderthat forces Naganathan to take care of this baby. But he decides to raise it as his hand puppet. Meanwhile, Somu desists from killing the baby and instead, raises it in another town.So the twins grow up separately - Parthiban(Sivaji), a good, honest and brave man and Vikraman(Sivaji), a drunkard and womaniser who is dependent on his uncle for everything. Parthiban falls in love with Amuthavalli(Padmini), the daughterof the minister at the palace and on one of his nocturnal visits, runs into his brother andhis mother. Vikraman, his mind poisoned by his uncle, clamps an iron mask on his face and locks him up.

The movie moves at a fairly fast clip to keep us engrossed throughout. It is just a littleslow-paced during the initial portions with the song sequence that details the growing upof the two princes not being particularly catchy. But it is necessary for the setup and the movie is not lacking in intrigue or emotions even during these portions as the king'sclever plan to ensure the safety of his second son and Nambiar's heartless acts demonstrate.The Sivaji-Padmini romance is quick and low-key and Thangavelu's comedy is not funny. But themovie moves into top gear once the two Sivajis meet. From here, one is kept on the edge of the seat with the twists and turns in the screenplay.

The scene in the dungeon is very well handled. Both the queen's (as she implores Vikramanto spare his brother's life) and Nambiar's(as he poisons Vikraman's mind with the threatto his throne) dialogs are strong and convincing. The path the movie takes after this,with first one Sivaji and then the other trapped inside the mask, is captivating. Thescene where Parthiban scares Thangavelu by pretending to be Vikraman is one of thefew genuinely funny scenes in the movies.

The technical skill evident during the first scene the two Sivajis meet, as one appraises the other while moving in a circle around him, is admirable, especially considering how old the movie is. Infact, any of the scenes involving both Sivajis would stand up to those in most movies involving a double role today. There are also a couple of nicely-handled fightsbetween the two Sivajis, a task that is by no means easy and is mostly clumsily done even today.

One thing that keeps me away from older movies is the multiplicity of songs. EvenYaar Nee, though not as old as this movie, suffered fromthis phenomenon, with too many songs at inappropriate places sapping away the interest in themovie. Surprisingly, inspite of being a historical, Uthama Puthiran does not have that many songs and so, the songs appear at reasonable intervals. Most of them are also very goodwith Mullaimalar Mele... taking the top spot. Anbe Amudhe... and Unnazhagai Kanniyargal... are the other good songs. As far as song sequences go, the exuberant Yaaradi Nee Mohini... has little competition. With its fast beats, well-choreographed dance and Sivaji's stylish gestures, it is a treat to watch.

There is not a single wrong step in Sivaji's performance. Inspite of no visual differences, the distinction between the two characters is beautifully brought out with just body language and style of talking. Vikraman is easily the more interesting of the two and offers more scope for acting. Sivaji very obviously enjoys himself immensely in the role.He is charming and his scenes with Nambiar, where he takes his advice on all matters(with abeautifully delivered "Mama") are very enjoyable. No wonder he manages to earn our sympathy when pleading with Parthiban to not make him wear the iron mask, inspite of being wicked. Padmini looks almost divinely beautiful and her dancing prowess is on full display during theKaathiruppaan Kamalakkannan... sequence. Nambiar shows why he was one of the mostenduring and longlosting villains on the silver screen. Kannaambaal plays the fiery, emoting mother role she is so familiar with while Thangavelu and Ragini provide comic relief.

http://www.thenisai.com/tamil/movies/uputhiran.htm

DHANUSU

14th July 2007, 09:57 AM

murali,
Probably I mistook thyagam for some other movie. But was it not the movie with lakshmi as heroine? I thot it flopped.

Smith,

I think you confused Thyagam with Unakaaga Naan. It was also produced by Balaji and Lakshmi was the heroine. This came in 1976. A remake of Hindi Namak Haram, due to the political situation prevailing at that point of time (Perunthalaivar had pased away and NT had joined Indira Congress) it failed at the BO.

Regards

I wish to report something related to "Thyagam". The reviews of the movie in Tamil journals were not amusing to the producer. Especially the reviews in "Ananda Vikatan" and "Idhayam Pesugiradhu" were more blunt and harsh. {It is another matter that reviews of NT movies in Ananda Vikatan were always biased against NT; the review of the movie"Karnan" was just a small paragraph!!} An irritated Balaji, during the time of Silver Jubilee of the movie, released a poster, depicting the scene in which Balaji [the police inspector] whipping NT, with the caption thanking the audience for the success of the movie and also for having taught a "lesson" to the media [refer the whipping scene].

This created a lot of hue and cry among the weekly journalists.

DHANUSU

14th July 2007, 10:06 AM

Coming to reviews, "Kumudam" has been by and large, fair in its reviews of NT movies. Late SAP Annamalai, who used to write the reviews, himself was an ardent fan of NT. There was wild debate in Kumudam, regarding the acting prowesses of Kamalahaasan and NT. Finally, he ended the debate by stating that if Kamalahaasan is compared to LIC tower then NT stands like Thanjavur Raja Gopuram.

In his reviews, he used to describe a few scenes enacted by NT in a movie, and finally complete the description with the line "Sivajiyaaldhaan mudiyum". I still remember his description in the review of TP. He described the apple scene and the following "oru naal saapidalainaa usiraa poidum" [ a scene which has been beautifully discussed in this thread in part-2] and concluded with the same line "Sivajiyaaldhaan mudiyum".

P_R

14th July 2007, 03:48 PM

I was seeing an interview with KSR on TV recently. He mentioned that during the shooting of a particular scene in padayappa, NT did a scene in a particular way. KSR was not too happy, but was hesitant to tell NT.

He looked at rajini who lowered his head. Sensing their discomfiture NT asked for a retake & did the scene again to the full approval of KSR. Remember this one. But I think it was KSR who wanted a retake. It was the scene where SivAji reveals Manivannan's parentage. If you recall the scene, SivAji will burst out in the first sentence. After that he will speak slowly in a soft voice full of love for his brother - and disappointment at his brother's behaviour -but not anger. Apparently in the initial take SivAji had emoted really strongly and the unit was applauding. But KSR wanted a more softer performance (i.e. the one we finally saw on screen). But he was diffident about telling that to SivAji,so he just hinted to him that he wanted a softer performance and ran back to the camera without facing SivAji and ordered the retake. And SivAji was able to deliver exactly what he wanted this time.
KSR recounted this incident & praised NT. But was it really a praise ?

I wonder. Why not ? :?
A re-take by itself does not mean anything bad. The actor may not always match what the director has in mind. It is not the fault of either party but the simple limitation of communicating ideas. The anecdote shows the variety that SivAji is able to offer at the spur of the moment. That's the mark of a highly talented artist.

Murali Srinivas

14th July 2007, 04:26 PM

Dear Dhanusu,

Yes, you are right. AV and IP didn't give a good review of Thyagam and Balajee was incensed. When the movie became a big hit, he gave an advertisement in the papers which proclaimed " Vikata Muttalkalukkum Idhaya Madayargalukkum savukkadi kodutha makkalukku nandri" .

While Vikatan choose to keep mum, Idhyam Pesugirathu reacted. It's sub editor was Thamarai Manalan (who later became the editor of VAsuki) who used to write in many pseudo names and one such name was Nakeeran. So in that name he wrote against this. They didn't attack NT but choose to go hammer and tongs against Balajee. It said when Balajee was an actor, he copied NT and later when he became a producer he depended on remakes and NT for financial success. Therefore he doesn't have anything original to boast upon. So went the attack. This time Balajee chose to ignore. For IP and Thamarai Manalan, they indulged in NT bashing often.

In fact they started this topic "Sivaji Sagaptham Mudindhu Vittadha" and wrote all sorts of things. It was at the peak during 1980-81 and only when Kalthoon became a big hit, they stopped.

During those times, IP would do a review of a film by announcing the date,show and theatre and would go there, watch the movie,take the feedback from audience present in writing and pool everything together and write a review. This programme which was mainly done in Chennai later was extended to other cities and for Kalthoon they choose Madurai (Chinthamani Theatre).

I still remember two comments that came along with the review the following week.

I came across one web-site
http://www.spicevienna.org/showPerson.php?p=9512

There are some errors in that. For example, it is stated that "Paasam" and "Engal Thangam" are starred by MGR and Sivaji. It has also listed movies like "Kaavalukku gettikkaaran" , "Engirundho Vandhaan" and "Ezhudhaadha Sattangal" as those starred by Sivaji!!

DHANUSU

15th July 2007, 09:12 AM

[tscii:5ff1840d1f]Shivaji Ganesan - Nadigar Thilakam

Great Indians Great Artists From India

Written by Shica Kannan

Sunday, 04 February 2007

Description
Great Indian Legends
Name: Shivaji Ganesan
Date Of Birth: October 1, 1927
Latest: A statue was erected in Chennai, TamilNadu to honour this legendary actor in 2006. It was unveiled by the Chief Minister M Karunanidhi, who was Sivaji Ganesan's best friend for more than half-a-century.
Link 1: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sivaji_Ganesan
Link 2: http://www.tamilnation.org/hundredtamils/sivaji.htm
Industry: Films
Speciality: Film Personality

Sivaji Ganesan (October 1, 1927 - July 21, 2001) was a famous Indian actor and politician. His real name was Villupuram Chinnaiahpillai Ganesan .Ganesan was born in Villupram, Tamil Nadu, India. He progressed from a stage actor since his boyhood to the silver screen with such an authority that the Tamil filmdom considered as the golden era His acting prowess brought the entire southern India, despite differences in the Dravidian languages into spellbound attention with memorable roles that linger in the minds of every individual. Film or stage acting was and is gauged or benchmarked upon only Sivaji’s ( thus he was affectionately called ) performance and there was no question of all other actors past and present ever denied that Sivaji was not their role model. He won several recognitions that like the best actor award in the Afro Asian festival in Cairo, Chevalier title from the French Government etc; His short stint in politics was a futile attempt though.

FAMILY MATTERS

His parents were P. Chinniah Mandraayer and Rajamani Ammal.Ganesan was married to Kamala (known also as Kamalammal). His two sons, Ramkumar and Prabhu carry on their father's legacy in filmmaking and acting. His son Prabhu went on to become a major Tamil filmstar in the 1980s and 1990s although Sivaji wanted him to join the Police Force. His two daughters are Shanthi and Thenmozhi. It should be noted that his grand daughter is married to the adopted son of J.Jayalalitha.

FILM CAREER

At the age of 9, Ganesan was so interested in stage plays that he ran away from home to pursue a career in theatre. His mother helped him get into a famous drama troupe.
Ganesan's first film was Paraasakthi in the year 1952 opposite noted actress Pandari Bai. He has acted in about 300 movies, including nine Telugu movies, one Kannada movie, two Malayalam movies and two Hindi movies.

The name 'Sivaji' was given to him by Periyar Ramasami after watching his excellent stage performance as Emperor Shivaji. He is also known as Nadigar Thilagam, Nadippu Chakravarthy (loosely translated "Acting Emperor") and the Marlon Brando of Asian cinema. He was a major actor of his period in South Indian cinema.

Best Actor Award, Afro-Asian Film Festival, Cairo, Egypt 1960
Padma Shri Title, 1966
Padma Vibhushan Title, 1984
Chevalier dans Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Knight of Arts and Letters), 1994
Dadasaheb Phalke Award, 1996
Shivaji is beyond doubt the greatest actor in Modern Indian cinema. He has performed arguably the widest spectrum of roles, versatile in any category of acting and has been successful in all genres of films. A review of a few thousand words is only a snapshot of a career.

VARIETY OF ROLES

Sivaji Ganesan has done a broad spectrum of roles like:
Veerapandiya Kattabomman- Indian King who fights against the British in the 1800’s

These are but a few of the many roles he did. Spanning genres like Historical epics(as Bharata), to Crime thrillers(Puthiya Paravai), from romantic escapades to comic flicks(Thenali Raman) to action films. Sivaji has spanned it all. The surprising part is his convincing ability to use the various schools of acting based upon what role he played. Beyond that he was never afraid to take on roles which would break his image. Sivaji has acted in negative dark roles, roles that required even grotesque makeup to make him look in character.In 1995 the Government of France awarded him the high title of Chevalier to recognize his contributions to Cinema. It is sad that the Indian Government with its petty attitude and bias awarded Sivaji the Dadasaheb Phalke Award a few years later.

But as Kamal Hassan later said, ’’.. Sivaji is not honored by the Dadasaheb award. The award should be honored that greatness has been bestowed by adding Sivaji ’s name to it.’’

`SIVAJI' GANESAN became a legend in his lifetime. He was in the film field for more than five decades. Sivaji was acknowledged as a consummate actor, vastly imitated but never equalled. His eyes had fire and he was cheered for his resounding voice, which the audience called 'simmakural' or a lion's roar. At the same time however, there has been constant criticism that he 'overacts.'

1. He was conferred an Honorary Doctorate by the Annamalai University, Chidambaram in 1986.·
2. Sivaji Ganesan was honored with the National Award - The special Jury Award for his performance in his 280th Movie 'Devar Magan' in 1992.·
3. On April 14, 1993, the Adithanar Muthamizh Perarai, pointing out his period to be the Golden Age of Tamil Cinema, honored him with the Adithanar Gold Medal Award, for bringing honor and prestige to Tamilians in general.·
4. On April 24, 1993, Mr. Sivaji Ganesan was honoured with Dinanth Mangeshkar Purashkar, for his outstanding contribution towards art and cultural upgradation of India.·
5. On August 27, 1993, the Santhome special Award was given by the Santhome Communications Centre, to honor him for the great service he has rendered to Tamil Culture in his own inimitable way.·
6. Sivaji Ganesan was presented with the "For the Sake of Honour" award by Rotary Clubs in Madras, Coimbatore and Trichy cities.·
7. He was also awarded the title of "Chevalier". This is one of the main decorations of the French Republic that is conferred to honour the most original and talented personalities, for their remarkable contributions in the field of Art and Literature in France and all over the world. ·
8. Sivaji was honored by being invited as the Chief Guest to inaugurate the 26th International Film Festival of India, which was held in Bombay in January 1995, the Centenary year of Cinema.·
9. During his visit to the USA in 1995, the Mayor of Colombus City, Mr. Greg honoured him by making him an honorary citizen of the city.

Until 1955, Ganesan was a staunch sympathizer of the D.M.K. party. In 1961, he become a strong supporter of the Indian National Congress. In 1982, Indira Gandhi made him a Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha. After 1987, he left Congress and floated his own political party (Thamizhaga Munnetra Munnani). He became the president of the Tamil Nadu faction of the Janata Dal in 1989. His political career, unlike his highly successful acting career, was rather unsuccessful.

DEATH

Suffering from respiratory problems, Ganesan was admitted to the Apollo Hospital in Madras on July 12, 2001. He also had been suffering from a prolonged heart ailment for about 10 years.

He died at Apollo Hospital at 7:45pm (IST) on July 21, 2001. He was 74.

MISCELLANEOUS

He was known for his acting qualities such as aptness in applying make-up, physical fitness, and variety in acting and delivery of dialogue.
In 1962, Ganesan toured the U.S.A, where he was given the honour of being the mayor of Niagara City for one day. He along with the former Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru were the only two Indians to be honoured this way.
During a visit to the U.S.A in June 1995, Sivaji Ganesan found himself in Columbus, Ohio. Mayor Greg Lashutka named him honorary citizen of Columbus at a special dinner.
The South Indian Film Artistes' Association President Vijaykanth declared that October 1, the birth day of Ganesan, would be observed as Actors' Day in Kollywood.
Ganesan erected the statue of Kattabomman at Kayatharu
Donated money and modelled for the erection of Shivaji Maharaj statue at Mumbai.
Marlon Brando is supposed to have told Sivaji Ganesan that Ganesan can act like him (Brando) but he can never act like Sivaji Ganesan.
Sometimes people used to critisice him that he over-acts but he always retorted by asking these people if they knew what was optimal acting!
He was well known for his loud and overdrawn dialogues which went on for 3-5 minutes
The only actor who was appreciated by the film audience even for the way he walked - the way he portrayed the characters with his style of walking!

Ganesan would be remembered as long as the Indian films sustain on the screens. He was compared with several Hollywood bigwigs like Marlon Brando, Clark Gable etc but the fact remains in the hearts of Tamils that these actors would be nowhere if Sivaji was born in the west.

Utthama Puthran (1958, a major hit, he plays a double role, a rehash of the famed Alexandre Dumas novel and Hollywood movie, The Man In the Iron Mask)

Bhaga Pirivinai (1959)

Veera Pandia Kattabomman (1959, a bio pic, one of his most famous and immortal roles)

Deivapiravi (1960, a family drama)

Padikkatha Methai (1960)

Kappalottiya Thamizhan (1961, a bio pic and cult film)

Paava Mannippu (1961)

Paalum Pazhamum (1961)

Pasamalar (1961, The ‘Pa’ series of hit movies of the Sivaji Ganesan- A Bhim Singh team)

Alayamani (1962, powerful melodrama)

Arivali (1963, a rehash of The Taming of the Shrew, a comedy)

Andavan Kattalai (1964, an adaptation of the early 1930’s German classic movie and Marlene Dietrich-starrer, Blue Angel)

Puthiya Paravai (1964, a crime thriller adapted from a little known Hollywood movie, which was however a big hit in India, Chase A Crooked Shadow)

Navrathri (1964, he plays nine different roles in this unusual movie which shows the amazing varied range of his acting talents and skills).

Thiruvilayadal (1965, a folk myth tale, a major hit)

Motor Sundaram Pillai (1966, in this film he is a father with girls of marriageable age. An adaptation of a Broadway play and the Hollywood film Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker, which in turn was based on the real life incident of an American truck-driver who had two wives in two different towns!).

Vuyarntha Manithan (1968)

Thillana Mohanambal (1968, a cult film, brilliant portrayal by Sivaji Ganesan. This film has been acquired by some American universities in the video format as a study of the famous Thanjavur culture.)

Vietnam Veedu (1970, a major hit and an excellent performance in the role of a Palakkad Brahmin who faces retirement and its insecure consequences)

Thava Puthalvan (1972, he plays a musician suffering from night blindness. In the film the new trend of having English songs in local lingo films began. A song Love is fine, darling... written by this writer and composed by M. S. Viswanathan, and sung by Ajit Singh, was a major hit.

http://sify.com/movies/tamil/fullstory.php?id=13273585

DHANUSU

15th July 2007, 10:55 AM

Viewer's comments on NT's magnum opus

This will be a classic any day, 17 September 2005

Author: murali83 from United States

What can i say about this movie. Even a kid in Tamil Nadu born today will know the speech that Sivaji Ganesan made in this movie.

Songs are extremely nice and sivaji is awesome in this movie.

What caused Veerapandiya Kattabomman to revolt may be shrouded in mystery. But revolt he did and paid the ultimate price of giving up his life. who better than Sivaji Ganesan to etch out this role. I suspect the real V. Kattabomman would not have been half as magnificent but he did deserve the belated accolades bestowed upon him through Sivaji.

With its taut screenplay and powerful dialogues together with a spirited performance from Sivaji and the ensemble cast, no wonder the movie went on to become such a monster hit. Though dialogues of ParAsakthi, ManOhara, ThiruvilayAdal, ThillAna MohanAmbAL etc (incidentally all starring Sivaji) were extremely popular with people, I don't think any movie dialogue had the reach of VBKB - Jackson Durai conversation. You can still see 5 year old kids performing the scene in KaNmaNi PoongA kind of programmes, even after 40 years.

1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
WOW!, 18 March 2003
Author: learnnew from Florida

There are movies that can be reviewed. And there are movies one has to watch in wonder and salute it! We're incapable in our limited intellect and capacities to even comment about them. We just reverently watch them and salute them! This movie is of the second kind. Rather I should say the performance of Shivaji Ganesan in this movie is of the second kind!

What a movie! This is an all-time classic! Shivaji Ganesan's career role! He got the best actor award in the Afro-Asian film festival at Cairo for this movie. One of the best performances ever by any actor in any movie. The supporting cast is uniformly good. When someone is inspired, he or she gives up all his individuality and in that surrender something everlasting is produced. This is the case in the movie. Shivaji is clearly inspired. Whew! After watching the movie, your step, your look, your demeanor will have a confidence and a swagger for days! DON'T MISS IT IF YOU GET A CHANCE!

1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
All-time classic, 7 January 2002
Author: (chembai@yahoo.com) from Chennai, India

A classic for all time, Sivaji's portrayal of Kattabomman is awesome, and his famous lines have become part of popular culture. Grandiose sets, elaborate war sequences, terrific music and fine lyrics, magnificent dialogue, competetnt acting from the rest of the cast....Don't miss it for the world.

Sivaji Ganesan brings the real kattabomman in front of our eyes. The powerful dialogs pierces swords in our minds. The movie portrays how the British East India Company set up trading centers, loaned money with huge amount of interest to the nawabs, and gained the tax collecting rights from the palayams(group of villages) in the south.

The brave king kattabomman says, "if you want money we will lend it to you, or give it free for you, but you cannot try to control us and get tax from us". He started the freedom struggle with his fearless attitude refusing to bow down to the empire.

Must watch movie....

http://www.us.imdb.com/title/tt0250803/usercomments

DHANUSU

15th July 2007, 10:59 AM

Viewer's comments on another of Sivaji's great movie

Uyarntha Manithan

Perfect performance by all, 15 June 2007

Author: sridharvisu76 from United States

Sivaji Ganesan is the doyen of tamil Cinema. He is a stalwart actor who created different acting styles that is still followed by current Superstars of tamil cinema - Kamalhaasan and Rajinikanth (who was renamed by the director K Balachandar based on Sivaji Ganesan's character Barrister Rajinikanth). He is the best actor and well acclaimed in tamil. Unfortunately Hindi is the national language and hence Sivaji did not get as recognized as say, Dilip Kumar / Raj Kapoor. Sivaji is better than the actors mentioned above. He finally got (pretty late in his life) Chevalier award from French Govt. Now, all said and done, Sivaji is known to overact as was the standard in those days in Indian cinema. However, he was the first to come out and take up negative roles instead of just superstar roles. Uyarntha Manithan just fits in here, a great underplayed role. Sivaji emotes the right amount in this movie. This is one of the best performances of Sivaji. It has other stalwart peformers like Sivakumar, Sowcar Janaki, V. K. Ramaswami and Major Sunderraajan. Watch it and enjoy

Sivaji at his best, 7 January 2002
Author: (chembai@yahoo.com) from Chennai, India

Watch this film and you'll know why Sivaji is rightly regarded as one of the best actors to come out of India. His portrayal of the helpless rich man gnawed by guilt is top-notch. Major Sundararajan and Ashokan (a fine underrated actor) provide excellent support. Andha Naal Gnyabagam...do they make such songs anymore?

http://hungarian.imdb.com/title/tt0234959/

DHANUSU

15th July 2007, 11:03 AM

Another comment on Sivaji's performance in Mudhal Mariyaadhai

Watch Shivaji Ganesan at his finest!, 18 March 2003

Author: learnnew from Florida

How can one even begin to describe this gem of a movie? For those who don't know Chevalier Shivaji Ganesan, he is the greatest Tamil actor and one of the greatest actors ever born. He, of course, didn't belong to the school of method acting and comes from a stage background and hence often his performances have been termed over the top (in many cases it is true as well). However, he is an actor who is possibly one of the very best to learn from. I have heard that his films are used in teaching acting in schools.

By the time this movie was made, Shivaji was past 50 at least and had grown considerably in the lateral dimension ;) So it was a challenge to write roles for him that would do justice to his talents. After a long time, Muthal Mariyathai offered him a meaty role and boy did he deliver! He turned in such a restrained performance that this in itself deserves a lifetime achievement Oscar! To everyone's surprise, Radha, a young actress then, and Vadivukkarasi matched him frame to frame in their roles. The movie is about the life of a middle-age leader of a village where farming is life. Shivaji, unhappily married to Vadivukkarasi, rediscovers his life when he meets Radha. What follows is one of the most poignant, beautiful and restrained love story that is bound to move any viewer. There are a few subplots that are not always needed. But the movie is a testimony to some of the best performances of some of the best performers in Tamil film industry, including the best of all, Shivaji. Check it out if you can! It is a TOTAL MUST-SEE! 10 out of 10!

Regarding uyarntha manithan, AVM saravanan had mentioned how sivaji wanted to do the role eventually done by ashokan.

Even after the release of the film, he felt that ashokan's role, though very brief, was the best in the film.

ragasuda

16th July 2007, 07:03 PM

Dear Joe
You are right. The handicapped person you have mentioned is an ardent fan and he resides at Chepauk and is a friend of mine. You can meet him opposite Chepauk Guest House during the evenings.
I don't know his name exactly but know him personally who is a friend of mine.
Sincerely,
V. Raghavendran

A wide spectrum of Sivaji was presented, indeed!! From the husband who returned to his wife, after decades to a fond husband to a newly wedded groom to an affectionate father in the guise of a disciplined police officer. What a variety of roles and with what a great level of
perfection !! In the first two songs we can see a very subdued NT and in the third song an innocent NT bubbling with joy (this is quite evident when NT taps the cot to the rhythm of the lines rendered by Devika) and in the fourth one a senior police officer dancing and singing with his family members, to their surprise. NT's dance movements in the last mentioned song are fabulous and a police officer will conduct himself in this dignified manner only, as portrayed by NT.

There is a background to the song mentioned second (AM), as I have read somewhere in a magazine [ I am unable to recall the name of the magazine]. Of course this is related to Kannadaasan. He penned the songs for the movie, which were great hits. All but one song were recorded. The producers were mounting pressure on the poet to compose the remaining song also, as this song is to be shot at Singapore and the month of release of the movie has been announced to be "May". KD became vexed with the producers frequent calls, citing that the month of release "May" is getting closer, he decided to teach "May" a good lesson and as you can observe, all the lines in the song end with "May".

Indeed what a poet was Kannadaasan!!!

DHANUSU

17th July 2007, 09:25 PM

bangalore: almost all of sunday i spent in front of the tv, watching film clips and song sequences from movies starring sivaji ganesan. this may mean nothing to the set that entertains itself at urban edge and knows no south indian language. but for me, and i am sure for thousands like me, the passing away of the great actor is the end of cinema as we once knew it. sivaji ganesan films-- and they were that no matter who else made up the cast-- take me back to the time before 100-channel satellite tv and dvds. that was when an outing to a cinema hall was an occasion. when i was a girl, we dressed up for these trips and waited for the intermission and ice-cream. in a world where books, the radio, movies and holidays to one's grandparents' place were the only breaks from the daily routine, i was hopelessly hooked to sivaji films. all the people i knew at that time were either sivaji fans or mgr worshippers. it was the `intelligent person's actor' versus the hero of the gallery-- much like the kamalahaasan - rajnikanth divide. being a devoted fan, i can say i've watched nearly two-thirds of the 300 films sivaji made. today, i can't identify most of the current stars, mainly because i've grown away from tamil films, finding them too loud and predictable. i cannot, for instance, tell rambha from meena, though i can identify nagma for entirely different reasons. but mention a sivaji film and i know who the heroine was, who the villain and comedian, plus all the songs. the songs in sivaji films were special-- mostly written by kannadasan, a poet who dwelt on love, life, death and disappointment in lyrical tamil. at the risk of sounding parochial, i have to say he would have been celebrated everywhere had he written in hindi. and sivaji brought those memorable songs alive with his brilliant emoting. it is now fashionable in some circles to dismiss sivaji films, saying he overacted and went overboard with his histrionics. sure, there were some forgettable films in which an overweight sivaji in multi-coloured clothes pranced about parks with some slender heroine. but at the time, even they seemed like superb entertainment and one went home humming the songs. but before this low patch, there were wonderful black-and-white films which will live on as classics forever. like paasa malar after which there was not a dry eye in the audience, paalum pazhamum with a vivacious saroja devi-- about love between doctor and nurse which is nearly thwarted by disease. and kappalottia thamizhan, about a freedom fighter who launched a ship as a sign of defiance against the british. there were dozens of other such films, all crowned by sivaji's impeccable manner of speech, the many gaits he could adopt and his bright, expressive eyes. and nearing the end of his career this master actor came up with mudhal mariyadhai, playing or rather underplaying a middle-aged man caught in an unhappy marriage and finding companionship with a young woman. later there was devar magan -- remade in hindi as viraasat-- in which sivaji's quiet dignity was the perfect foil to kamalhaasan's fire and rage. i saw on tv sivaji's fans expressing their sorrow in the melodramatic fashion peculiar to tamil nadu. i am saddened by the realisation that sivaji will no more act in films, but the wealth of work he has left behind, i know, will lift that sadness. priyabala@indiatimes.com.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/599432736.cms

DHANUSU

17th July 2007, 09:28 PM

Watch the great song enacted by NT "Satti suthadhada"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpYkYdvt5sg

Murali Srinivas

18th July 2007, 07:58 PM

Dear Dhanusu,

I was just thinking why no post from you on Then Kinnam, your favourite subject. I also saw yesterday's episode and as you said watching Anbu Nadamadum was a pleasent experience because they don't often play this song. NT would look so handsome in this song and in theatre there used to be big applause when he runs energetically with the opened up umbrella in his hand. I always look forward to the scene when they stand on a bridge which would be named as " Bridge of Eternity" . Seeing that always gives a mellow feeling.

Athikai song, you can see NT in a childish and innocent mood but when all the four sing the pallavi at the end, they would come to the balcony and the moment NT puts his right hand on the pillar and left hand over Devika, he would turn majestic. Amazing transformation.

SP Choudary, what I can tell about him? How much more you say still it will not be sufficient to describe him.

Regards

joe

19th July 2007, 06:33 AM

நடிப்புக் கடவுள்

http://vettipaiyal.blogspot.com/2007/07/blog-post_18.html

Murali Srinivas

19th July 2007, 03:15 PM

Dear Joe,

It made vey interesting reading. Convey our appreciation to the blogger (though you have done it personally, as a representative of this thread/hub). Good!

Regards

unhappyboy

19th July 2007, 08:23 PM

Why hasn't anyone voted for Style?:x That was the single most significant thing in his acting, something which other actors during those times couldn't perfect. In fact, most actors, including KH, look comical if they try to be stylish. NT was the only person whose style was as good, if not better, than his other aspects such as dialogue delivery, body language etc. I am surprised ppl have ignored this. :(

And no one's voted for look, which also is shocking. He may not have been classically handsome (who is?), but take a look at the current actors...most of them look like crap and they play heroes. NT was far better-looking than these blokes.

Ganesan, whose strong religious belief and nationalistic outlook grew steadily, went to the famed Tirupati temple, some say, as repentance for working in such a film

This is what I admire about NT-his integrity. Having made a terrible mistake as an impressionable young man, he had enough courage and maturity to repent and make amends. Goes on to how he's not only a great actor, but an honest man and a great nationalist. :D

On this day I am reproducing a text message sent by one of my close friends, a great NT fan, when NT passed away, as he was working in another city. Here goes it

SIVAJI - A TRIBUTE:
================
An Indian Pisa tower has fallen!

The monumental Taj of Silver Screen is in a tomb!

Encylcopedia will have nothing to register in its infobank on acting.

Guiness will have no records to b re-written on roles an actor can
play !

The Temple of cinema is closed......... A Chapter that was re-
readble has put a stop.

The Lion will never ever roar Live again

Emotions will fail to teach new ways of expressions.

Role model of stage and screen will not have an inspiration

Holywood greats will be let off without competition!

A Legend ends an eventful era............

LETS PRAY FOR HIS SOUL TO REST IN PEACE
LETS CHERISH THRU TV TECH THE GREATS' GREAT PICTURES

-==-=-=-=-=---=
Another perspective that triggered in me while I reflected on his
good roles:

Did we learn from him, to know how an officer of any profession
or a businessman is to be?

Did his acting influence us, to show up emotions when our heart
pounds?

Was he the reason, as his fan for the 'kalaigan' in us?

Was he, for good or bad, responsible that we chew a sorrow.?

Did his acting showed the way to repsond to a fellow family
member?

Did history register in us well, thru his roles in such movies?

I wonder if the answer to all of these (many more maybe) are YES,
he DID influence!

I tried my hand just like that, since we didnt have enough to talk on this occasion, which otherwise would have been a long chat & time, heart content.

Do share with our friends.
--------------------------------

Going thro' this again makes my heart heavy and I am putting it here.

Regards

Murali Srinivas

21st July 2007, 12:29 PM

The Sivaji- Prabhu Charities Trust was formed when NT was alive and it was NT's wish to honour yesteryear actors/technicians through this trust and he was there for the occasion in the initial years. After his passing away, the Family is organising the function on his death anniversary. (Last Year because of the Statue unveiling cermony which took place on July 21st, the function was held on Oct 1st when Bheem Singh was honoured).

For this year the Trust is honouring Veteran JP Chandra Babu and a stamp on JCB is being released. The function being held today is being presided over by KRG and the Chief Guest of the evening is Mellisai Mannar. Function at 6 PM at Film Chamber Auditorium.

POPULAR old Tamil songs echoed inside the closed auditorium of Wisma Tun Sambantham in Kuala Lumpur as ardent fans silently paid their respects to a legendary star recently.
A garlanded portrait of the legendary Tamil film star, Sivaji Ganesan, was placed on the stage, as fans remembered his movies and his great acting prowess.
Sivaji may have died on July 21, 2001, but to many a fan, he is still alive, at least in their Memory.
It was a mournful moment for many fans as they watched with admiration and overflowing emotion the videoclips that were screened.
Some clapped, some cheered, some were saddened and some smiled, remembering the good old times of growing up watching his movies.
Born Villupuram Chinnaiahpillai Ganesan on Oct 1, 1927, he took his screen name "Sivaji" after the stage play about the Maratha emperor Shivaji.
Sivaji made his film debut in the unforgettable Parashakti in 1952 at the age of 25.
"He reflected a persona of a seasoned actor in his first movie attempt and it was a major success," said writer poet, C. Pandithurai.
Hit movies followed for almost five decades later, with movies like Veerapandiya Kattaboman (1960), Thillana Mohanambal (1968), Vasantha Maligai (1972), Muthal Mariyathai (1985) up to his final role in Pooparikka Varigiroom (2000) with his grandson.
Some of those at the memorial said that thanks to Sivaji and his movies, people came to know of historical figures like warrior hero Veerapandiya Kattabomman and Kappalottiya Tamizhan after watching his movie. Sivaji brought life to history and colour to acting.
The Sivaji Ganesan Society of Malaysia (SGSM) formed after the actor died, organised a poetry contest titled Nadigar Thilagam (The Ultimate Actor) for those aged 18 to 30.
Ten best poems were selected at the event.
The contest was provided an opportunity for younger fans to express their appreciation of a grand old actor.
Big fan K. Divyarani, 27, said only Sivaji could converse through his eyes and facial expression "and you don't get them from actors today".
Pandithurai and producer/director V. Vijeyasingham shared the sentiment and relished the versatile star and Indian cinema for his genuine acting skills.
"Sivaji Ganesan will always shine as long as his fans appreciate the art of good acting with a good story and moral to be told."

Yesterday July 21st, I had gone to the function organised by Sivaji- Prabhu Trust. The venue was South Indian Film Chamber of Commerce Auditorium at Mount Road.

Compared to Kamarajar Hall or other auditoriums this is a smaller hall and therefore the hall was full even by 5.45 pm. There had been posters put up by NT fans and Prabhu fans outside.

The Stage had a huge display depicting NT's two close up shots (the natural NT as he was during his last periods) with the letters proclaiming " Nadigar Thilagathin 6 vathu Ninivu Naal- 21.07.2007".
Beneath the stage there was a table in the right side corner where two photographs of NT and Chandrababu (being the person chosen for the occasion) were kept and both had garlands on them.

Everybody was waiting for KRG the film chamber president who had to preside over the function. He was struck in a traffic jam it seems. By this time with all the available seats taken up, fans who had come were filling up the place behind the rows and the sideways were also occupied.

Ilaya Thilagam Prabhu did a nice gesture. From row 1 to the last he walked up and greeted everyone.Whether it was VIPs or ordinary fans he greeted them with folded hands and also shook hands. It was a spontaneous one and it went down well with the audience.

By this time KRG had arrived and the function started by 6.10 PM. The stage had 5 chairs occupied by Prabhu, KRG, MSV, Mr.Panner Selvam and Ramkumar. Our fellow hubber and actor Mohanram was the comperer.

He welcomed everyone on behalf of NT family and the trust. He said every year they start with Irai Vanakkam and this year also it is going to be there but with a difference. He didn't say what it was and suddenly all lights went off and the big screens kept on both sides of the stage went on and wow it showed NT as Kattabomman standing and singing Sakthi Vadivelana Vetri Vadivelanai, the intro scene of NT in VPKB praying at the Tiruchendur Temple. For the fans it was a pleasant surprise and there was loud cheers forgetting that this is a Irai Vanakkam.

Then on behalf of the trust all guests were honoured with Angavasthram and momento. For it's part Akila Indhiya Sivaji Mandram President Bhoominathan gave momentoes.

Then Mohanram asked Thalabathy Ramkumar to do the welcome address. Mohanram said that Chandrababu had a special liking for Ram and when Ram finished his schooling at Bangalore and came to Chennai for college, there was a problem with the admission before he could get it at Vivekananda. Chandrababu had written about this saying that NT had helped so many people monetarily without publicity (loud cheers) and also helped many people for securing admissions. For his son he didn't do anything and for him there is no college seat...enna ulagamada ithu.., Babu had lamented.

Ramkumar came to the mike and spoke about the relationship NT had with Babu and his (Ram's) personal relationship with Babu. He said only 4,5 people in the industry used to converse with NT in vada poda style (when talking in person) and they were MGR, MRR, ANR, Chandrababu and Tikkurisi Sukumaran Nair (Yesteryear Malayalam actor). Babu was 1 year older to NT and after a gap of many years he came to act with NT in Raja, Needhi and Avandhan Manidhan and the last one turned out to be his last movie. Ram said that Babu was a multifaceted personality who did so many things in the industry. Ram particularly remembered a incident during the shooting of Needhi. NT was shooting and Ram had gone there to see him. During lunch break, Balajee the producer had come to NT and said that Babu is recording a song for this film and he is not cooperating in the sense it is already 20 takes old and so MSV wanted NT to come there. NT went there and it was 24th take going on. Two more takes later still the job is not done. NT at this point of time asked Babu " Ozhunga Paaduviya, maatiyaa?" for which Babu turned to Balajee " Unnai yaaru indha Aalai kootitu vara sonnadhu, Ivarai kootitu vandhu ennai miratiriya?" But the man he is Babu cleared the next take beautifully, Ram recalled. He also said that when two wars had broken out with China and Pakistan, NT had led a group of artists to the war front and entertained the jawans and NT insisted that Babu should be there.
He also recalled Babu's father was a freedom fighter.

With this Ram finished his speech. Mohanram came to the mike and said now the special postal cover on Chandrababu is going to be released but before that there would be two clippings. One of the interesting info is Babu had sung for NT. It was a rarity because Babu never sang for others. With this the song "Jolly Life" from Kalyanam Panniyum Brahamachari was screened. Wow! for a film released in 1954, the dance steps were too good and NT had done a good job of it, especially the shot in which he taps both his feets to the tune which drew deafening applause. It goes without saying that fans were having a field time. After this scenes from Sabaash Meena were screened. The scene where NT and Babu change positions in the office when NT's father and SVRangarao walk in(beautifully described in this thread by Dhanusu) was played followed by NT mistaking Babu the cycle rickshaw puller and then NT locking up the other Babu thinking he is mad.

When this got over, Younger Brother of Babu, Mr.J.C. Jawahar was called to the stage and Mr.Saravanan was asked to come. While doing this Mohanram recalled that when this trust was formed, NT was there and the first function was held in 2000 when postal covers for AV Meyiappan, K.Subramanian LVPrasad and Raja Sandow were released. NT had remarked after that there is a long list of people who need to be honoured. Though he could not fulfill his wish, the family has taken his wish as Kattalai rather Aandavan Kattalai and doing the same. He further added that the trust had so for honoured MKT,PUC,AVM, KSubramanian,MRR, MK Radha, Bheemsingh etc. It was NT's golden touch, within 5 years the postal dept had brought out stamps in favour of AVM and K.Subramanian- the director and LV Prasad Mohanram added.The postal cover was then released by the Post Master General Lt.Colonel Panner Selvam and Babu's brother got the first cover. Then it was the turn of the Post Master General to speak.

This man a ex - military officer surprised everyone with his fluent Tamil and the point was he had no notes or anything in his hand but words simply flowed. He said that Tamilnadu was always famous for Iyal Isai Naadakam and it has produced many stalwarts in these fields who were the best in the country and it is remarkable that such artists were in the forefront when it comes to Nation's cause. Being a military man, he recalled that the artists' programmes staged at the war front helped army men to over come the fatigue and other worries and they were rejunevated to see their tinsel heroes performing for them. It should be highly appreciated that the trust standing in the name of one of the greatest artist of India is honouring such personalities like Babu (here he specially mentioned the scenes shown and said it showed how great an artist these two are) and affirmed that for such gestures the Postal Dept would always come forward in helping. With this he concluded.

Now it was the turn of KRG to come to the mike. He raised his hands above his head and apologised for coming late to the function. He said " Naan senjathu maperum thappu. Yaar function-kku late-a varuvadhu? Avar function-kka" he was emotional. He recalled that when he produced "Thiruppam", NT's call sheet was at 7 AM. KRG had reached the studio (AVM) at 6.45 AM and met Saravanan on the way. Saravanan told him " Annan 5 mani-kke vandhutar ". When KRG went inside the floor for a moment he was shocked when a police officer asked him " Ippothan Variya" in a booming voice an then realised it was NT. He was stiff and KRG could not stand before him. Then director Billa Krishnamoorthy told him the scene to be shot required NT to be stiff because the charcter realises that his friend is a bad guy behind the villian group. KRG added for a 7AM call sheet, NT had woken up at 4 AM, come to the studio at 5AM and was ready for the shot at 6.45AM. The function for such a person should start on time and he (KRG) had delayed it and again he became emotional. Probably to overcome this on a lighter note he remarked that studio owners used to enquire about the timings of NT's call sheets on the previous day itself and instruct their respective gate keepers to keep open the studio gates 2 hours in advance. KRG said that he got a big profit from Thiruppam but his next venture Nermai did not do well. After this when he went to Annai Illam to greet NT on his birthday, NT asked him " Ennada? Padam sariyaga pogalai-nu indha pakkam varathai nirithitiya? Poi Shanmugathai paaru". When KRG met NT's brother VCShanmugam, he immediately gave the call sheet and Thaikku Oru Thalattu was launched, he recalled. He added that people who have produced films with NT were lucky (Punniyam Seithirukkanam) because he was an actor who always had the producer's well being in his mind. KRG had done films with many people but NT stood out. KRG then recalled the Chevaliar function held in 1995 where he was the office bearer of the commitie and said before that and after that the MAC had not allowed any producer to even take a still camera inside but this was one exception given to Kalai Thayin Thalai Magan, he said and asserted that there will not be another function for anybody like that.

KRG who was in a emotional mood continued in the same vein and recalled the facilitation done for MuKa when he was the CM in 1998.
KRG had approached MuKa and wanted his permission to announce the function to media. MuKa asked him why he asking his permission for this, KRG replied that NT is going to preside over the function and whether he had any objections to it,to which MuKa had shot back " Enakku Athai Vida enna Perumai irukka mudiyum". KRG said all this was done without even informing NT. When KRG approached Ram, he came to know that NT is out of town and camping at Bangalore. KRG immediately rushed to Bangalore and met NT. NT greeted him " Vaada Moondrezhthu (NT always used to call like that, KRG remarked) edhukku vandhe"? When KRG replied he had come to meet him, NT remarked " Poi solladhe,nee oru Vyapari, un vyapara vishayama vandhiya"? Then KRG told him the matter for which NT reacted " Yaarai kettu nee commit pannine? neeya mudivu edupiyya athai naan othukkanama"
When NT saw KRG meant business, he had asked him " MuKa-kku theriyuma, enna sonnar"? When told of MuKa's reaction, NT had replied "Enakku mattum Vera perumai irukka enna" and came and graced the function, KRG remarked. He further said that not a day passes without he remembering NT. He also fondly recalled how Ram and Prabhu had never demanded anything fom him and said that Prabhu had acted in his 5,6 movies and accepted whatever he gave as salary. KRG had also met with a personal loss in the recent times as his son had passed away, which he shared with the audience and there also he recalled that his grand childen were very fond of Prabhu. By this point one saw Prabhu visibly moved. KRG concluded by saying July 21st is the saddest day as for as cinema world is concerned and retired to his seat.

Now the Chief guest Mellisai Mannar got up and one could see he was also emotional. He came to the mike and said due to health problems he could not speak much. He described himself as an emotional man who always gave Anbu, Paasam and Viswasam the top priority. MSV said in the film world he had two friends, one who had never seen the Sunrise and the other who had not witnessed Sunset. The former was Babu and the later was Kannadasan. During the programmes held at the war front, he showed both his friends what they had not seen till then. He also remembered that it was Babu who alone got once more requests from the jawans. It was the same wherever they performed. Babu asked MSV it seems " En-da, enkita mattum once more kekraanga" for which MSV had replied " Oru Dhatavaiyavathu nee sariyaaga paadida maataaya-dhan ". MSV went on saying that during that time, Radhakrishnan was the President and he wanted the troupe to perform in front of him at Delhi Raashtrapathi Bhavan. It seems Radhakrishnan was very impressed when Babu sang Pirakum Pothu Azhugindrai. Seeing the President's reaction, Babu had jumped near him and pinching his chin seems to have remarked "Nee unmaiyile Gnaasthan-ya". The President's security taken aback by this tried to remove Babu but Radhakrishnan took it in his stride, MSV recalled. He then remembered that it was he who did the audition test for Babu when he came for testing. MSV was working with SMSubbiah Naidu at that time and he rejected Babu. Later on when Babu became a big star, MSV had just started as independent MD and when for a particular film Babu told Ramanna, the director to remove MSV. But on hearing the song Babu he said that it was unsuitable for dance movements.MSV then went ahead and personally danced and showed to Babu that it can be danced to as well.From there Babu and MSV became thick friends which continued till the end, MSV said. The friendship became so deep, Babu on his death bed insisted that his body should be kept in Visu's house before taking it to the Church and the same was fulfilled, MSV's voice almost breaking. He said that only two persons had the liberty to call him at any point of time and Babu was one among them the other being Kannadasan. Again MSV said that Babu's mother after Babu's death stayed in MSV's house till her life time. As for as NT and his family was concerned, he is one among the family. Many incidents float to his mind but he said he would break down. He promised that would be another day and wished all the good will to the family and Mellisai Mannar walked away.

After this Prabhu came to the mike and he thanked all the persons for coming to the function. He was overwhelmed that so many fans of Appa had come and they always seems to be there to whichever corner of the world he and his family goes. He said that as long as "Appa continued to be in your thoughts, naanga nalla iruppom. Naanga nalla irukkaradhuku kaaraname neengathan, ellorukkum nandri" he finished.

Giri Shanmugam (son of NT's brother) proposed the vote of Thanks.
It was a short and sweet function which concluded at 7.30 PM. Outside the hall, the fans had encircled Ram and Prabhu and they obliged everyone before leaving. Another trip down the memory lane soaked with emotion got over.

Regards

PS: It was very clear that the crowds were not mere fans but knowlegeable cinefans was evident in the sense that all covers (the cover that was released inside) was sold out within 10 minutes of the function.

Another interesting coincidence that was told by Mohanram was when Sivaji family produced a film the hero's name was Saravanan. When Saravanan and family produced a film with the same hero, the name became Sivaji. Sarvanan seemd to like it very much.

joe

22nd July 2007, 08:53 PM

Murali Sir,
Thanks for excellent coverage :D

DHANUSU

23rd July 2007, 07:15 AM

Salutations to you Mr. MS for the excellent coverage! You have done it again. Your blow-by-blow account of the event looked as though I was attending the function. Very well done.

Coming to the person honoured at the function, Jesus Pichai Chandrababu, was very close to NT. I recall an incident narrated by a person [ I dont remember his name], who was present when JPC called on NT at the later's house. NT welcomed his friend 'vaada'. JPC asked NT to do something for his livelihood for which NT told him 'this is your house; you can very well stay with us'. JPC told him ' I want to eke my living from acting in movies; do something for that'. NT promptly recommended his producers to cast JPC in their movies with the result JPC starred in many of NT's movies in that period [Neethi, Raja etc].

A versatile actor, JPC's personal life was full of tragedies [as is the case with many of our comedians].

Another information about MM MSV is that his mentor SMS was staying with MSV till death, as he didn't have any issues. I have heard and read that MSV is a very wonderful human being, bestowed with all the good virtues!! Long live MSV

DHANUSU

23rd July 2007, 07:20 AM

Sivaji-Prabhu trust honours comedian Chandrababu

Staff Reporter

The trust, with Department of Posts, has brought out special postal cover

— Photo: K. Pichumani

HONOUR: J.P. Jawahar receiving the special cover on J.P. Chandrababu from T. Panneerselvam, Postmaster General, Chennai City Region (second from right), at the sixth death anniversary of Sivaji Ganesan in Chennai on Saturday. Actor Prabhu; KRG, president, SIFCC; music director M.S. Viswanathan; and G. Ramkumar are in the picture.

CHENNAI: To mark the sixth anniversary of the passing away of celebrated actor Sivaji Ganesan, the Sivaji-Prabhu Charities Trust honoured eminent thespian J.P. Chandrababu at a function at the South Indian Film Chamber of Commerce (SIFCC) auditorium here on Saturday.

Chandrababu, actor, comedian, singer and dancer, featured in many successful films from the late1940s to the 1970s along with Sivaji, M.G. Ramachandran and M.R. Radha, among others.

“J.P. Chandrababu was such a multifaceted talent with his acting, comedy and singing,” said G. Ramkumar, Sivaji’s eldest son, who is now involved with the charity. “He was such a good friend not only to the acting industry, but to the nation as well; he even performed for our jawans two times, during the 1965 war.”

In Chandrababu’s memory, the trust, along with the Department of Posts, has brought out a special postal cover commemorating his long and successful career. The cover, which was released by T. Panneerselvam, Postmaster-General, Chennai City Region, depicts stills from Chandrababu’s films Sabash Meena — a 1958 classic he starred in along with Sivaji — Kadavulai Kanden and Sahodari, as well as images of the actor with M.G. R. and M.R. Radha.

In a special visual tribute to the careers of Chandrababu and Sivaji, the function featured clips from movies they starred in together, displaying Chandrababu’s unique Chaplinesque style and trademark bass musical voice. The function was attended by a number of personalities from the film industry, including actor and Sivaji’s son G. Prabhu, music director M.S. Viswanathan, AVM Saravanan and KRG, president, SIFCC.

Crowd management is a veritable challenge. Especially when you have a star-struck (read legend-struck) lot getting into a frenzy once too often in the midst of a show. Their loud slogans albeit hailing the greatness of actor Sivaji Ganesan got on your wick, but the experienced emcee that he is, Y. Gee. Mahendra handled it all with élan. His light-hearted, sarcastic retorts, which went down well with most part of the audience, quietened them down considerably. The evening was another example of YGM's undying love for Ganesan. As always, ARS was around to lend a helping hand to the proceedings, dedicated to actor Padmini who passed away recently.

The event, `Paasa Malargal,' whose main sponsor was IOB, re-created the glorious era of films Bhimsingh had made with Sivaji Ganesan as the protagonist. The huge screens on either side of the proscenium at Kamaraj Hall, Chennai, brought to life some memorable scenes from the duo's ever-popular `Pa' series (so called because most of the films with the combo had titles beginning with `Pa'), and made you grieve the excellent actor's loss even five years after his demise. Thus peppered with Ganesan's dialogue-oriented sequences and melodies from his `Pa' films presented by Y. Gee. Melody Makers, the evening was at once one of wistfulness, emotion and happiness.

Sense of yearning

Many members of Sivaji Ganesan's family were present to witness the show that honoured some of the yesteryear veterans with Sivaji Awards of Excellence. Prabhu and Ramkumar were among the guests of honour. And whenever in between songs Ganesan came alive on screen stunning everyone with his potent portrayals, you noticed Ramkumar's wife Kannamma, wiping her moist eyes. Understandable, since most of the time you felt sentimental too. Also it was interesting to watch Prabhu nodding appreciatively and putting his hands together for numbers such as MSV's fusion piece involving the classical and the modern. The actor was all smiles when Jay Balaiah (actor Balaiah's son) replicated Chandrababu's refrain `Rock Rock ... ' with gusto.

The list of songs selected for the evening showed exemplary taste. And though Kalpana and Prasanna were not at their performing best, Ananthu, Kovai Murali and S. N. Surendar more than made amends. A pleasant surprise it was when A. L. Raghavan rendered `Andru Oomai Pennalo ... ' in the same youthful voice you heard decades ago! Age had done nothing to mar the mellifluous tone and tenor! A host of speakers there were, but each was succinct and to the point. And when you heard Ramkumar's short address it was as though you were listening to Sivaji Ganesan himself. Such was the similarity!

A gratifying session from Mahendra on the eve of Sivaji Ganesan's 78th birthday, and his dad YGP's 89th.

http://www.hindu.com/fr/2006/10/13/stories/2006101300680200.htm

[/tscii:3d06a76b07]

DHANUSU

23rd July 2007, 08:11 AM

I was watching "Raja" on Podhigai yesterday (22/07/07), after a long gap of more than 20 years. The movie was very good and gripping. There were many cuts perhaps due to time constraint. NT's performance was simply superb. He was looking quite handsome, a perfect match for JJ! Songs were excellent and the background score, especially during the fight scenes was brilliant, for that period-1971 [kudos to MSV].

While watching the movie one thought constantly engaged my mind:

All NT fans, including whom I know, MS, Joe, Groucho, Ragasuda, Akhlabhai, Tacinema, Tvsankar, Sharada, Shaktiprabha et al, must be watching this movie with avid interest, right now, along with me, from different parts of the globe! And this thought made me emotional.

You were right. I was watching Raja yesterday. But I missed the initial parts. I could watch it only from Nee Varavendum song. I was also watching this movie after a long gap. Raja holds a special place in my heart because this was the first NT movie that I saw it on the Opening show on 26th Jan,1972 morning. Between then and now 35 years have gone by but the movie still retains its charm. Two songs were cut. Though one could understand the reason behind the cutting of Kangalai Kondu Vaa song, it was a surprise they cut Irandil Ondru song also. Added to that they cut short the fight between NT and Balajee which is the main turning point of the movie. With all these cuttings still the movie was quite enjoyable. I always love to watch the climax. Though it is lengthy the twists and turns would be great.

Though Raja was remade from Johnny Mera Namm (Dev Anand & Hema Malini), it was better than the original. CVR the director was very much helped by AL.Narayanan, the dialogue writer.

The dialogue that I did not see yesterday but still remembering from day 1 is the intro scene of NT. Manohar would comment

"Enakku oru nambikkaiyana aal thevai"

for which NT would reply

"Nambikaiyana aala? nee ulle iru; naan veliye poi anuppi vaikiren"

You should see NT delivering this. I feel sad that I missed it yesterday.

Regards

smith1

23rd July 2007, 07:57 PM

Was Raja the 1st action film of NT (so to speak)?

Murali Srinivas

23rd July 2007, 08:18 PM

Dear smith,

It was not Raja but another Balajee film Thangai that gave the different face of action mood to NT films (1967). But Raja was the film where the action scenes of NT shaped up well. Especially the fight with Randhava (Darasingh's brother) was well taken. You should see the reaction of NT in those scenes. The way he used to jump up after falling down was so good (Enga Madurai Baashai-yile sollanamana " Jootaa endhirippaaru"). Thinking of these scenes brings me to MSV. What a BGM he did for Raja. Not only it was novel but was out of the world. The chorus added to BGM used to get special applause. In the fight scene mentioned above, Randhava would take two "maan kompus" in his hand and try to attack NT. For this MSV would have used a bit, Oh! lovely.

smith, if possible please go to NT thread Part II where saradhaa had written a beautiful description for Raja. Read it, you will love it

Sivaji Remembered
[Saturday, July 21, 2007]
Various programmes were organized to observe the sixth death anniversary of thespian Sivaji Ganesan on Saturday.

The Fans Association of Sivaji Ganesan carried out a silent walk at the shores of Marina and it was inaugurated by State Minister K P P Samy. At the Nadigar Sangam, the association president Sarath Kumar paid floral tributes to the portrait of Sivaji Ganesan.

Office-bearers of the Sangam including Radha Ravi, Vijayakumar, Manorama and Prabhu among others were present on the occasion. They later went on a rally to Kamarajar Salai and garlanded the statue of Sivaji.

Also catch a glimpse of Ram Kumar, son of Sivaji Ganesan, sharing his thoughts about his father to Indiaglitz.

http://www.indiaglitz.com/channels/tamil/gallery/Events/12803.html

Video and Photos

joe

25th July 2007, 11:26 AM

Thanks Indiaglitz for excellent coverage :clap:,when other major newspapers failed to make any news

abkhlabhi

25th July 2007, 01:56 PM

I missed Raja due to pooja at my house. In fact I bought CD. I saw MC on Raj Tv. I have CD/DVD colleciton of more than 15 GOOD NT films

This song is one of the very best of NT & Natiya peroli and infact of Tamil cinema itself.

Brilliant EYE TO EYE start as Padmini quickly rushes to the dais to start her programme . As she anxiously asks through her eyes NALAMAA , NT happily with a negizchi, acknowledges & then the epic song starts !

Though it will be a friendly fight this time, on seeing river of blood coming out of his hand, Padmini rushes to help him but her mother screams................. MOhanaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa .

You were right. I was watching Raja yesterday. But I missed the initial parts. I could watch it only from Nee Varavendum song. I was also watching this movie after a long gap. Raja holds a special place in my heart because this was the first NT movie that I saw it on the Opening show on 26th Jan,1972 morning. Between then and now 35 years have gone by but the movie still retains its charm. Two songs were cut. Though one could understand the reason behind the cutting of Kangalai Kondu Vaa song, it was a surprise they cut Irandil Ondru song also. Added to that they cut short the fight between NT and Balajee which is the main turning point of the movie. With all these cuttings still the movie was quite enjoyable. I always love to watch the climax. Though it is lengthy the twists and turns would be great.

Though Raja was remade from Johnny Mera Namm (Dev Anand & Hema Malini), it was better than the original. CVR the director was very much helped by AL.Narayanan, the dialogue writer.

The dialogue that I did not see yesterday but still remembering from day 1 is the intro scene of NT. Manohar would comment

"Enakku oru nambikkaiyana aal thevai"

for which NT would reply

"Nambikaiyana aala? nee ulle iru; naan veliye poi anuppi vaikiren"

You should see NT delivering this. I feel sad that I missed it yesterday.

Regards

You are perfectly right!! I too enjoyed the above mentioned scenes with the given dialogues and also the performance of NT during the jail scene last mentioned by you. I think we both have some similarity in our tastes, wrt NT.

P_R

26th July 2007, 12:18 AM

The great Balaiyya will be so involved with NT's nadhaswaram play that he will touch his shoulder to acknowledge the greatness of his expertise in playing the instrument ! Beautiful example Nakkeeran.
That expression of BalaiyA is great. It is a mixture of both admiration for SivAji's skill as well as expressing that he understands his turbulent emotions at that time.

There are several places in this film where these two great actors communicate freely without words.

In the troupe-intro piece, they are all playing when Padmini and party arrive. SivAji notices them first and points to BalaiyyA with a playful (naughty) expression in his eyes. BalaiyyA is initially engrossed in his tavil, catches the expression, looks towards the gate and sees them. He acknowledges that he saw what SivAji wanted him to see, with a naughty smile in his eyes.

And mind you all this when they are playing their instruments impeccably. Just fantastic.

Sikkal Shanmugasundaram and Kaliyuganandhi MuthurAkku :clap:

joe

26th July 2007, 08:39 AM

//Dig

Murali Sir is now "The guest of the Day" .Go and raise your questions to him here..
http://forumhub.mayyam.com/hub/viewtopic.php?t=9879&start=1335&sid=7d0d8526a2b5d175b9377fd1704d05c0

When NT in all majestic splendour would step in to the upparikai or maadam and wow! how great he would look

Regards

ragasuda

28th July 2007, 11:18 PM

Dear friends,
As Mr. Murali said, the whole film Karnan is a majestic one. Particularly in this song, there are 4 lines sung by P.B. Srinivas, starting somewhat with "thangatthaal" ... I don't think any one would have seen these lines in the film. But these lines featured in the gramaphone record (78 rpm). These lines I shall try to recollect and let you know, which you'd fine, is glorifying enough for NT.
Regards,
V. Raghavendran

tacinema

29th July 2007, 02:26 AM

Ragasuda,

Do you mean that there were some scenes cut in the film? If it is so and if you have them, could you please post them here?

The KARNAN is one of the NT movies that never tires you, no matter how many times you watch it.

Regards..

ragasuda

29th July 2007, 07:51 AM

Dear tac,
If I memory goes right, these lines were featured in the film in the initial stages. That is for the first week or so. Later on I did not see this part in any print. May be there is no negative available for these lines. I think these lines were sung for NT by PBS and many people felt this did not suit him and hence this portion was cut, since people did not want TMS and Sivaji to be separated. This was the reason I heard why that portion did not continue in the film. Any way I shall post the lyrics as soon as possible.
V. Raghavendran

This is news to me. Eager to know the lines. In the same way as for as I know, Maharajan Ulagai Aalalam was never picturised,right? That was a song people would have loved to watch. Two three songs in NT films became super hits but never found a place in the movie. One was Maharajan, the second one was Thazampoove Thanganilave from Ra(k)tha Thilagam and the other one which was picturised but was not included was Pazhaya Paadal Pole from Thaikku Oru Thalaattu

Dear PR,

That incident involving Tiruppur Kumaran's wife was poignant.

Regards

ragasuda

29th July 2007, 11:53 PM

Dear Murali,
I am trying to find if the 78 rpm is available for this song from Bhavani and Madurai or any other place. I hope to get it soon and at the earliest I shall post the lyrics. The voice of PBS will be mesmerising you in a lullaby tune. Viswanathan Ramamurthi deserve full appreciation for their contribution to this classic film of all times.
V. Raghavendran

From October 31, 1931, when the first talkie ‘Kalidas,’ was released, Tamil cinema has come a long way. Different directors, different styles... it has been a rich fare. Eight directors list their best ten and explain what makes the first three superior.

‘Sindhu Bairavi’ is a masterpiece in its own way. The screenplay and the actors’ performances make it the best. I choose ‘Roja’ for its patriotism. ‘Vedam Puthidhu’ appeals because of its message that all humans are the same.

‘Andha Naal’ was released in 1954 starring Sivaji Ganesan and Pandaribai. It was the first talkie in India without song or dance. I like the way director S. Balachander tackles this experimental film, an unusual attempt at that time. Just like ‘Sivaji’ today, people talked about ‘Chandralekha’ in the past. Produced at a cost of Rs 30 lakhs (a huge sum at that time), it has grand sets. I have seen it 12 times. ‘Kalyanaparisu,’ a love story, is the first of its kind. I became director Sridhar’s fan after watching it.

I choose ‘Chandralekha,’ a remarkable film, because of its grandeur in all departments of filmmaking. There are no graphics or special effects. If anybody tries to remake this black and white film, they will make a mockery of it. ‘Ratha Kaneer,’ made in 1954, has progressive ideas and great acting by M.R.Radha. ‘Thillana Mohanambal’ must make all Tamils proud. It not only fuses Bharatnatyam and nagaswaram, but has an outstanding screenplay and a great cast.

‘Parasakthi’s’ heavy dialogue (written in chaste Tamil by the current Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi) coupled with a stunning performance by newcomer, Sivaji Ganesan, make it a favourite. ‘Devadas’ has superb lighting by B.S.Ranga, excellent performance by A. Nageswara Rao and Savithri and haunting music by C.R.Subbaraman. As a teenager, I saw it 40 times. As a filmmaker, I saw it for the 50th time a couple of years ago. It still captivates me now as it did, when I was a teenager.

‘Ratha Kaneer’ has brilliant dialogue and inimitable performance by M.R.Radha.

I like ‘Adutha Veettupenn’ for the natural acting, ‘Parasakthi’ for its message of social awareness, reform and powerful dialogue. In ‘Nadodi Mannan’ and ‘Uthama Puthiran,’ I enjoyed the way both heroes combine acting prowess with entertainment.

I had just stepped into the industry and Mahendran’s ‘Udhiripookal’ just bowled me over. It was a breakthrough film in commercial cinema. The negative character in it and the way it ends make it outstanding. ‘16 Vayathinile’ is memorable for its script, high standard and realism. K.Balachandar has done some of the best films before and after ‘Aval Oru Thodar Kathai.’ But I choose it mainly for its storyline. It is not the plot or the story, but the character that carries the film through. Although it was released about 25 years ago, the character remains fresh in one’s memory. That is the greatness of the film.

As a kid I saw ‘Pasamalar’ and cried. As an adult, each time I have seen it I was moved to tears. Recently when I saw it, the film left a lump in my throat. That is the power of the script and the performance of lead players. Sridhar’s ‘Nenjil Or Aalayam’ depicts the supremacy of love. Through his script and direction, Balachandar brings out the tender core of his middle-class heroine, assailed by problems, in ‘Aval Oru Thodarkathai.’

‘Andha Naal’ by S. Balachander was a trendsetter. When songs were the mainstay those days, this film was a bold attempt as it did not have any. Each camera angle makes watching it worthwhile. In fact one can say that this film changed the sound concept in Tamil cinema. ‘Nenjam Marappadhillai’ not only breaks free from the formulaic screenplay but director Sridhar does something revolutionary by introducing new faces in it. Recently I read in a paper that the film has been remade in Hindi. This is the power of Sridhar’s script. Director A.P. Nagarajan’s ‘Thiruvilaiyadal’ is imaginative. It treats a mythological subject in an interesting way. It is one of the best films in the annals of Tamil cinema.

Some moving reminiscences on the occasion of veteran actor Sivaji Ganesan's birth anniversary.Sivaji Ganesan... a name that's synonymous with great acting and a charismatic presence on the silver screen. He was known by several titles and has more than 300 films to his credit. Enough and more has been written about Sivaji Ganesan, the actor. But what was he like as a grandparent? His granddaughter takes a trip down memory lane...

"To us grandchildren (nine of them), he was our dearest Dada Sahib, who lavished us with lots of love and affection. We consider ourselves fortunate to have grown up under his loving are.

By the time we arrived on the scene, he had slowed his hectic pace of life and was much more relaxed and more accessible to all of us.

I remember my sisters and cousins would spend the greater part of the day playing in our grandfather's room, listening to him narrating stories about his real and reel life or laughing and enjoying ourselves as he repeated the verse "Vannanukku vannathi mela aasai, vannathikku kazhudai mela aasai"!

One of his favourite stories was about how he played female roles such as that of Noorjehan, during the early days of his stage career. Perhaps that explains why he was very good at giving us useful tips on make-up and colour combinations.

Grandpa loved to see all of us dressed traditionally... in grand silk saris, with lots of jewellery and flowers adorning the hair. Dada Sahib always rehearsed our bridal make-up before our weddings. In fact, I remember during my Bharatanatyam arangetram, he personally supervised every detail of the show, whether it was my costume or the stage dicor.

My grandfather was an early riser and was obsessed with neatness and punctuality. We imbibed these qualities from him. He was very broad-minded and forward in his thinking and views.

While talking about him, it would be apt to mention my grandmother, Kamala Ganesan or Kamalamma as she is better known.

The maxim "Behind every man there is a successful woman" is absolutely true as far as she is concerned.

My grandparents were Appa and Amma to everybody.

Ours is a joint family and all of us stay at "Annai Illam", our home. The credit for keeping the family bonds strong goes to my great-grandmother Rajathi Ammal and Kamalamma."

"... Sivaji had just one problem. He would act brilliantly in front of the camera. The minute you removed the camera, he just couldn't act... "

joe

30th July 2007, 11:36 AM

Kamal Hasan:

"... People have only credited some 300 odd films to Sivaji... What about the 200 I have done... It is Sivaji who has acted with me in all my films including the 15 where he was physically present with me... " :thumbsup:

"... While shooting for `Thevar Magan', I had delayed shooting because I was particular about getting a specific chair for him to sit. Later while watching the rushes, he saw me sitting in that chair... "So you are sitting in the chair in the second half. Now I know why you were specific about the chair," he said and then asked, "But why do you want my chair"... and I told him, "All other chairs have to be vacated every five years"... It was a childish desire for me to sit on that chair. But I wish to tell everyone here, that no one ever would qualify to sit on that chair".

P_R

30th July 2007, 11:38 AM

[tscii:0691a51de4]
Cho S. Ramasamy:

"... Sivaji had just one problem. He would act brilliantly in front of the camera. The minute you removed the camera, he just couldn't act... " :lol: Typical Cho !
>digr. > Recently in a function held for Nagesh he said this
“Nagesh stands as a lucid example of the fact that those who follow my advice can never make a mark in life,” were Cho’s characteristic words. “When he wanted to quit his job in the Railways and strive to get into cinema full time, I told him it was a risky move. But how judicious it turned out to be!”
<< end digr.<<[/tscii:0691a51de4]

joe

30th July 2007, 11:39 AM

Vairamuthu:

"... If you discount time spent sleeping, dreaming and waiting for them to come true, time spent in eating, drinking, working, any human being lives only four of five years of his life... Sivaji has achieved what no one ever in the history of the world has... He has lived over 2003 years... from playing Socrates to Veeraapandiya Kattaboman to VOC to Sivaji to Shiva---characters across centuries."

joe

30th July 2007, 11:40 AM

Bharathiraja:

"... I still remember mustering courage and asking him not to use a wig for `Muthal Mariyadai' at the end of the first day's shoot. I expected him to get angry. Instead he said: "Why didn't you tell me before. If you want me without wig and make-up, just tell me so. You are the director"... And as an after thought he laughed and said: "Just because you are dark, you just want to portray all people dark in your movies... "

joe

30th July 2007, 11:41 AM

Gemini Ganesan:

"... Working with him in movies has been among the most pleasant experiences in my life... ".

joe

30th July 2007, 11:41 AM

S.S.Rajendran:

"... He was one of the rare actors who would compliment his co-stars and actors..."

joe

30th July 2007, 11:42 AM

AVM Saravanan:

"... even when he had a problem with a certain artist, he went out of his way to ensure that he helped that person to outperform him in a particular scene... "

joe

30th July 2007, 12:03 PM

Malaysia Vasudevan

"The highest praise for me came from the peerless Sivaji Ganesan gave some very good remarks about the `Mudhal Mariyathai' song. That was enough for me."

joe

30th July 2007, 12:06 PM

Rajkumar Santoshi - Hindi Director

"It is a regret that I never had the opportunity to direct the thespian Sivaji Ganesan. I learnt a lot from him. Whatever I know about acting I owe it to this legend. His films are like a library. I go back to them whenever I have doubts about a scene. "

joe

30th July 2007, 12:09 PM

Sunil Dutt

"Nadigar Tilakam' Sivaji Ganesan should be awarded the Bharat Ratna posthumously for his outstanding contribution to film industry. "

joe

30th July 2007, 12:17 PM

SivaKumar

"There has never been and never will be an actor like Nadigar Thilagam"

P_R

30th July 2007, 12:32 PM

btw SivaJI and Kamal acted in 15 films together ?

joe

30th July 2007, 12:36 PM

btw SivaJI and Kamal acted in 15 films together ?

Not sure .I only remember 4 movies ..May be Murali sir can throw a light. :)

The movie vaanambadi had SSR in the lead.
//Dig
yep. But PR asked for the list of Kamal movies as a child. Other than the one PR mentioned i could remember this movie. As i whole i think he only 5 or 6 movies as a child artist :roll:

//Dig

groucho070

31st July 2007, 10:08 AM

Imagine in Partaal Pasi Theerum, Kamal play dual role and athuvum alongside the man who played nine roles. No wonder when he is past his fifty, he is still at it, playing ten roles now. Phew!!!

Because of guest thread, I couldn't concentrate here. You are right. Kamal acted only in 4 films with NT including Paarthal Pasi Theerum. But what I think is, Kamal is also talking about the films where he worked as a dance assistant under Thankappan Master. May be he had done some NT films. But wait,wait!. There was this movie Cinema Paithiyam, where NT played a guest role and Kamal was also there. In Natchathiram, NT-Kamal-Rajini all played guest roles and the same way with Uruvangal Maaralam. So all this combined together may add up to 15.

Regards

ragasuda

1st August 2007, 12:36 AM

Dear friends,
It seems the Kamal NT thread has not got the point. Kamal's association with NT includes those films in which he did not act with him but as a technician/ crew or like that. One such unheard association of Kamal with NT was for t he film PAADHUKAAPPU. In this film Thangappan was the dance master for the ship song where Saibaba and L.R.Easwari duet is picturised. The song is "Nambal ki pyari" ... like that. NT will look slim even more and watch out for his steps. These would be ample evidence for Kamal's involvement with NT offscreen. In fact due credit is given to Kamal Haassan in the title of Paadhukaappu. You can even watch it if you could procure the copy of cassette or cd.
V. Raghavendran.

Murali Srinivas

1st August 2007, 07:57 PM

Two days ago was just going through Hindu and normally I look for the feature " This Day That Age" because it gives you an idea of what happened on this day some 50 years ago. On Monday I saw this news and it documents the well known friendship between NT and ANR that prevailed right through their carreers.

Dated July 30, 1957: Donation to university

Mr. Akkineni Nageswara Rao, who has acted so far in 60 films, both Telugu and Tamil, celebrated the diamond jubilee of his appearance in films at a function in the Vijaya Gardens, Kodambakkam, Madras, on July 28. On the occasion, he donated Rs.25,000 to the Andhra University. On his behalf, the Madras Chief Minister, Mr. K.Kamaraj, handed over the cheque to the university Vice-chancellor, Dr. V.S.Krishna. The AP Chief Minister, Mr. N. Sanjiva Reddi, presided over the function. Mr. V. Nagiah welcomed the guests. Mr. Shivaji Ganesan proposed a vote of thanks.

smith1

1st August 2007, 08:01 PM

ANR did navaratri in telugu & in hindi it was done by sanjeev kumar.

I think ANR came to chennai to pay his last respect to NT, but not sure.

S.Balaji

2nd August 2007, 04:26 PM

I find similarity between Vasanthamaligai & premabishekam ( another ANR movie ) which again was remade as Kamal starred Vazve mayam. Can someone clarify ?

smith1

2nd August 2007, 05:03 PM

I think vasantha maligai was remade in telugu with ANR.

Murali Srinivas

3rd August 2007, 06:58 PM

Dear Balaji,

As you must be aware, Vasantha Maaligai's original was Prem Nagar and it had ANR and Vanishree and it was in 1971. (VM was in 1972). 10 years later in 1981, the Telugu people made some changes here and there and produced Premabhisekam and now it was the turn of SriDevi to play the heroine for ANR. This also became a Super Duper hit and Balajee grabbed the rights and produced Vazheve Mayam (1982). It was like Ram aur Shyam (Hindi E.V.Pillai) after some years becoming Seetha aur Geetha.

Regards

rajeshkrv

3rd August 2007, 09:52 PM

kamal as a kid acted in paadhakanikkai too

scenes involving him and MVrajamma are emotional and awesome

mr_karthik

5th August 2007, 01:25 PM

Dear Balaji,

As you must be aware, Vasantha Maaligai's original was Prem Nagar and it had ANR and Vanishree and it was in 1971. (VM was in 1972). 10 years later in 1981, the Telugu people made some changes here and there and produced Premabhisekam and now it was the turn of SriDevi to play the heroine for ANR.

Yes...

Vasantha Maaligais' original is Telugu 'Prem Nagar', It was produced by Rama naidu. The same producer remade in Tamil as VM. Then same producer remade again in Hindi as "Prem Nagar" (same Telugu name), starring Rajesh Khanna and Hemamalini.

A huge studio set was made for Hindi Prem nagar, as the MaaLigai for his lover. We can see that set in 'Thirumaangalyam' (Jeyalalitha's 100th movie) for the song "ponnaana manamengu pOgindrathE".

Balaji used the same set in his movie "En Magan" for the song "sollaathE sollaathE... ooraarku sollaathE" (by LRE) starring in the song Leena Doss, with Balaji and Major (remember Manohar takes photos and blackmailing both).

After several years, the sory of 'Vasandha MaaLigai' was copied by Director Agathiyan as "Gokulaththil Seethai" with Karthik and Suvalatchumi.

It was like Ram aur Shyam (Hindi E.V.Pillai) after some years becoming Seetha aur Geetha.

Was watching 'Thanga Padhakkam' the other day and was surprised to see such a restrained performance from Shivaji. Even in sentimental scenes he didn't go over the top as was norm during the period. Couldn't help but notice a similarity with Vettaiyadu Vilayadu: when R.S. Manohar says "Avana pidichuttu vandhu banglow vaasalla kattunga. Avan thalaiya thundu podara velaiya naane gavanichukkaren", SP Chowdary makes his grand entry and challenges him "En thalaiya kettinga, naane vandhirukken. Eduthukkarathu.." :P I would rate this as one of his best movies (nay, THE BEST) of 70's. :notworthy:

joe

7th August 2007, 08:15 AM

Part of Tamil Cinema75 celebration in Singapore ,Veerapandiya Kattabomman will be screened today evening.

MM was the film where they had to openly admit about the greatness of NT or rather were forced to do that. Earlier they had conveinently forgotten about such performances which were there throughout his career. It is no use talking about these people.

One thing that hit me is the fact that everyone calls NT the Encyclopaedia of acting. Would like to recommend all Kamal fans to watch this film. You can see the source of several of Kamal's acting in this one film. Indeed Kamal is the rightful heir to Sivaji.

One thing that hit me is the fact that everyone calls NT the Encyclopaedia of acting. Would like to recommend all Kamal fans to watch this film. You can see the source of several of Kamal's acting in this one film. Indeed Kamal is the rightful heir to Sivaji.

:yes: bt kamal fans wont accept it...dats how dey are!...:oops:

NOV

11th August 2007, 09:20 PM

:notthatway:
i never meant it in a negative way; pls do not divert the issue.

One thing that hit me is the fact that everyone calls NT the Encyclopaedia of acting. Would like to recommend all Kamal fans to watch this film. You can see the source of several of Kamal's acting in this one film. Indeed Kamal is the rightful heir to Sivaji.

What Joe,Groucho and Saradha were pointing out was the usual comment that NT did well only in MM and TM which rather shows NT in poor light. He was capable of all types of acting and the end product depended on the story, background of the period the film was released and of course on the director.

In support of your view point, you had quoted the scene from UM. The bursting out of the lead character. PR, you had come from a background where you had the fortune of reading a variety of books, viewing a variety of world cinema and at your age the knowledge you have at your finger tips is simply out of bounds for a normal city graduate leave alone a common man. So when you watch a movie, you expect it in a different manner. But for the common man, cinema is his big realisation,happiness and joy.

Coming back to the scene you had mentioned, imagine the background of the character. Born to a very rich father who will not allow anything that will snatch the prestige,andhasthu from him. This Rajasekar could not even protest his lover being burnt live in front of his eyes (again a point which makes it clear that NT always looked for the character rather than the image), had to marry the choice of his father, go to the office and carry out the business, has to submit to the wife who is again another form of what his father had represented, he is sulking to himself, he being accused of being a coward by his dearest friend, imagine as it happens to anybody who reaches a flash point unable to take it anymore, he bursts out when he is being accused of telling a lie. Rather being called over board,it is very natural for anybody to react in the manner he reacts. The middle class man identified himself there.

Again another example of yours which is regard to the spicy food he is tasting from the tiffin box of the servant, as you said it is an excellent scene. That's what we are asking, why the so called people who go ga ga over the scene in MM, where he eats the spicy fish in Radha's house are silent here? Just because there was no BR or Kamal here (as saradha had rightly questioned?). Why is it the same credit is not extended to Krishnan Panju and that too when they brought out the same emotions from the same artist even 17 years prior to that?

We can endlessly argue but the bottomline is (which you also know), the fault was not with NT.

Regards

Murali Srinivas

13th August 2007, 08:46 PM

Joe,

Yesterday I saw Andha Naal DVD here in Chennai. I remember you writing that it is not available in Singapore. It is manufatured and marketed by AVM. Price is Rs 200/-.

Actually I had gone on a hunt of the new moserbaer brand of VCD/DVDs which are now available at Rs 28/- and Rs 34/- respectively. I relaxed my policy of watching movies in CDs (atleast old movies). Joe, I checked with this company. Out of 450 Tamil movie titles they have, 1/10th are NT movies. They have rights for 45 NT movies. I had picked up 15 movies ( Around 25 titles were not available in that shop, Music World). It is for your info.

The bursting out of the lead character. PR, you had come from a background where you had the fortune of reading a variety of books,.........But for the common man, cinema is his big realisation,happiness and joy. Thank You Mr.Murali.
What you say is very true. As I said, MM and TM are two of the films that I was able to enjoy completely without having to make any of the above considerations that you have mentioned. Which is why I protested the word 'ordinary'. Perhaps I overreacted. Quite topical isn't it ? (Now I am asking for it :oops: )

Beautiful explanation of the protagonist's situation in Uyarndha Manidhan. I was not finding fault with the outburst itself. It was a powerpacked scene of course. What I found a little studied was the way he speaks the lines before that. As you say, there are popular reasons for doing so. But in that tour-de-force, I am anxious that we should not forget things like the ease and style, with which he offers Major a cigarette.

Why is it the same credit is not extended to Krishnan Panju and that too when they brought out the same emotions from the same artist even 17 years prior to that? Fair question. I think it is largely because many people unfortunately tend to remember his louder performances. It may also be because SivAji didn't have many great performances in the neighborhood of those films. But I agree that those who say this all he was, don't know what they are talking about.

Murali Srinivas

14th August 2007, 04:11 PM

Dear PR,

It was good to see your reply. Yeah! I do agree that particular scene was played to the gallery but at his level and for fans/public, this becomes inveitable.

Joe,

Two things I wanted to write but forgot. One was the URL for moserbaer list of movies (if you don't have it already). It is

http://www.moserbaerhomevideo.com/

Second thing is, I was having a chat with the Floor Manager of the shop (Music world) and according to him, the available movies are classified as pre-1990 and the other post 1990 and in the pre 1990 category, the highest selling VCD/DVD is Gowravam.

My wishes to Indian citizens all over the world. Happy independence day!

Ten years from '47, our own little country achieved it's independece. We'd be celebrating our 50th anniversay end of this month.

On the argument on why only MM and TM are mentioned for so-called 'realistic' acting, I'd say that we hubbers are doing a fine job in talking about the earlier films. This thread has always been on top, and have invited many curious readers and some of them eventually started posting and appreciating what all of us have been doing.

So, I think the attitude amongst film fans will change. They will see "performance" rather than acting, overacting, underacting, and all that crap.

Murali Srinivas

16th August 2007, 09:07 PM

Of the VCD purchases I made last week, I thought of checking out Niraikudam first. I have not watched the movie in full after the first theatre visit and it was 38 long years since its release. Second it had Vanishree.

More than what I expected, the film turned out be one which was able to sustain interest. There were some surprises. The story was written by Mahendran ( Uthiri Pookal) and of course screeplay - dialogues were by Cho (Muktha Production). Another surprise was this is the only NT movie which had V.Kumar as Music director.

The story and screeplay had lot of logical holes and the entire film was spun on a very thin thread. Considering that even now we make films without story logic, this was understandable.

Again as it was a wont with NT films in general, here the protagonist again is in a catch - 22 situation. On the one hand he is the most lovable husband a girl could ever get and on the other the same girl thinks that he is the most treacherous human being (she being blind is not able to see him). The second half catches your interest and the most surprising and enjoyable part is NT never ever goes overboard and just his face speaks.

Superb song Joe ! Thanks. I remember writing a post on Aval parandhu ponale sometime back. MSV-TKR have used unconventional instruments for a different situation . Thats speciality content of this song.

Murali Srinivas

17th August 2007, 08:53 PM

Dear Usha,

I am coming to the movie.

The story is set in Medical College background. NT, Muthuraman and Vanishree are students(!) in the Opthamology ( Eye care) Dept. NT has this habit of betting and he would try to win the bet by any method. This is established by two three incidents, one example being the artificial rain with thunder and lightning effect that NT sets up in order to prevent Vanishree from meeting the American doctor who visits the College. During a College cultural show, NT and Vanishree do a stage play which makes them fall in love. NT who loves betting enters into an argument and subsequent bet with Vanishree that he will make a fool of her.

For this he takes the help of Muthuraman who is the brother of Vanishree. Both NT and MR fake fights in front of V, but she is not fully convinced. To win the bet by any account, he asks MR to write a letter to V, stating that the fight between them has reached an alarming proposition and NT may even kill him. This is written on the last day they leave the college after exams. MR and V belonging to Salem leave for the station. According to the plan, MR should ask V to read the letter before arriving at the station and at the station the truth would be revealed to her. NT dresses up as the driver of the taxi and drives them. MR compels V to read the letter when she finds out the driver is NT. When she asks him to show the face, NT turns back and the car hits a lorry coming in the opposite direction and goes down the road. MR is killed, Vanishreee loses both her eyes and NT escapes with minor injuries.

Now V is convinced that NT planned this accident. Major, her father also strongly believes the same and when NT's father VKR tries to meet them and explain to them, he is harshly spoken of and sent back. NT meanwhile goes to Salem for a eye specialist job under a doctor who runs a eye clinic. The Dr. has lost his son and so he becomes fond of NT and he even starts calling NT as Babu, his son's name rather than his original name of Prabakar. V comes to this clinic for the treatment and the drama starts. Once when Major tells him that nobody with a pure heart is there for marrying her daughter and whoever comes is interested only in the money he has, NT tells him that he is ready to marry V. Since they have seen his father, NT tells Major that he is an orphan. V, though she couldn't see suspects NT because of the Voice but Major convinces her. The marriage takes place and the lead pair go for a Thanikudithanam. NT is all love and affection for V but also finds out from time to time that V is very angry towards Prabakar (NT- yethan). However he tries to reason with her arguing for the "other person", he is not able to convince her. His father also comes to Salem and buys the house NT and V stays but once his identity is revealed again it creates problems but without revealing NT.

Meanwhile in the professional front he reaches glorious heights and even does complicatory eye surgeries. So the senior Dr now wants to conduct eye surgery for V and asks NT to do it as he is leaving for Germany. Now comes the real dilemna. If he does the operation and she regains the eyesight, he would lose her and the life. If he doesn't do, he would be accused of keeping his wife as blind lifelong so that he can "enjoy" life. After much deliberation, he decides to go ahead with the surgery. Cho, who is a journalist earlier and who lives with NT adds to the confusion and because of Manorama (Cho's wife), Major realises the truth and rushes to stop the operation but he is overpowered.

The surgery takes place. V had earlier said that she wanted to read the letter given by her brother and later meet Prabakar. She asks NT to wait at the Home. NT before opening the bandage gives her the letter. But there is a twist and all ends well.

In the climax, NT hands over the letter and the ring (actually Vanishree agrees to give this ring to NT, if he wins the bet) to V and walks away because V had told him that first she would read the letter and then come and see NT.She asks him to wait at the Pooja room at the house in the wedding attire.

The camera shows her reading the letter and the next scene shows NT waiting at the Pooja room. V walks in, her face down and she falls at the feet of NT. When she raises he head, she sees NT and gets shocked. NT tells her that he is the same guy Prabakar. He tells her that he had married her to atone the mistake he had commited. He never killed MR and he never had any intention of doing so. He then asks V to decide whether to believe him or not.V then says she knows that he is innocent. She further says that MR had written in the pinkurippu that he is writing this letter as dictated by NT and so he had asked her to come to station and tell NT that she knows about this game already. So that clears all doubts and all ends well.

Yes, regarding performances, as I said earlier NT does it with ease. Even in scenes when we expect him to go overboard, he gives a restrained performance. Three scenes I would like to mention.

1. When NT refuses to do the surgery for V, Major,his F-I-Law accuses him of trying to keep his wife blind life long so that he (NT) can enjoy his life. Only NT's back is visible and he turns his face towards the camera and with a sharp look and twitching eyebrows, he utters slowely "How dare you say that? En manaiviyin thagappanar enkira ore kaaranathirkaga ungalai summa videren!" and he will walk away.

2. In the climax after V becomes aware that his old lover and present husband are one and the same, NT stands before the idol and he kneels down and bangs his right hand in the floor and say
" Sami Sathiyama naan Sampath-ai Kollalai" .When we expect further explosions, he quitens, his face registering a change comes near V and says" Ithudhan Unmai. Inimel needhan mudivu pannanum" .

3. The night before surgery. He talks about the good old time they had together and you should listen to his voice. It is soft,subdued yet it reflects all the emotions that he is undergoing.

But the scene that I loved the most is the following. VKR, NT's father buys the house where NT and V are staying. Since V is blind, she is not able to identify him (Though VKR had come to her house earlier to seek apology, even at that time she is blind). But Major knows him and so VKR avoids Major. But oneday they meet face to face and Major shouts at him. V also accuses him of trying to spoil her life. At that time NT walks in and he is unable to support either his father(whom he cannot identify openly) or his wife. When VKR says " Indha Babu ennai veliye poga sollatum; naan poren" for which NT replies "Indha maathiri oru payyanai pethatharkku neenga innum avamanapadanum. Veliye Ponga" after saying this he turns his face. VKR will reply "En magan Uthamanthan,avanai pathi ungalukku theriyathu" and walk away. The next scene shows VKR lying in a hotel bed and NT is seen coming in. VKR gets up and closeup shots of both of them are shown. When you expect a big apology and lengthy dialogue, NT walks up to him, falls down at VKR's feet and VKR lifts him up and after a moment embrace ech other. The scene ends without a single dialogue. Wow!

About others Vanishree does a good job. Though there are many chances of the character going melodramatic, she stays clear and gives out a natural one.

Cho's dialogue has sprinkles of politics as usual and they reflect the times the film was made. Another interesting thing is the film has only three songs. One is the college song "Devan" where NT comes in different getups, the second is the most famous "Kannoru Pakkam" and the third one is "Vilakke nee konda Oli naane" where NT is all style in walk and pose.

Overall, it was good walk down the memory lane.

Regards

saradhaa_sn

18th August 2007, 06:37 PM

He then asks V to decide whether to believe him or not.V then says she knows that he is innocent. She further says that MR had written in the pinkurippu that he is writing this letter as dictated by NT and so he had asked her to come to station and tell NT that she knows about this game already. So that clears all doubts and all ends well.

Dear Murali,
I just happened to read the thread "MGR vs Sivaji". As jilabha said, just ignore that thread, and let them write whatever they want. Just remind yourself of the song "buddhiyulla manidharellaam vetri petradhillai, vetri petra manidharellaam buddhisaaliyillai", and that's it. If we just avoid that thread, they would automatically stop abusing NT. That was how NT grew great. He reached peak facing all kinds of mudslinging and there's no wonder it continues. Just avoid. That'll do. NT is always great.
V. Raghavendran.

But later on the relations soured. VKR had in his memoirs in kalki had cited a few instances.

joe

20th August 2007, 04:16 PM

Nadigar Thilagam Blog

http://sivajiganesan.blogspot.com/

Murali Srinivas

20th August 2007, 05:32 PM

Dear Raghavendran Sir,

I understand your view point but I posted there to clarify certain misgivings. Ok, let's leave that.

Dear Usha,

Thank you so much. In fact I am sorry I had to do it in 3 parts because some needless issue came up which took my time. I think Raghavendran would write more on Nirai Kudam. I wish to write about some more films of NT. Give me some time.

While writing about Niraikudam, Raghavendran had mentioned the date as Aug 9th, 1969. It's release date was a day before (ie) 8th Aug. There is a --- , no vendam. Ippothan I have been accused of derogatory remarks and defaming. Let me not again state some fact which would be used as a tool for someone to pour ire on NT.

Regards

rajeshkrv

21st August 2007, 12:36 AM

Niraikudam:

Niraikudam is definitely a classic in the aspect of subtle performances by NT,Vanishree and others.

this is one of my fav of Vanisree.. she portrayed the character very well. NT asusual did commendable job and his scenes with blind Vanisree (unable to reveal his identitiy ) is mindblowing..

thanks murali srinivas for bringing up niraikudam as a niraivana post..

The other reason is it came after Anjal Petti 520. If you remember, there also a letter would be the main issue and the climax would be reading of that letter which would clear all misgivings. So two films in succession with a similar plot played spoil sport.

Only if it had been released after giving due considerations to all the above factors, it would have turned out to be the biggest hit for Muktha Srinivasan.

Regards

joe

21st August 2007, 09:41 PM

Murali Sir,
I heard that Pilot Prem Nath (which was advertised as 'Ilangai - inthiya koottu thayarippu') ran more than a year in Srilanka .

What about Tamil Nadu ? I never watched this movie ,I have never seen any clippings shown in any TV..Can you give us more info about this movie?

if i remember correctly, the plot is... sivaji's wife on her deathbed will reveal that one of their children is not his. she will breath her last before giving additional details.
the plot revolves around finding out the mystery. again it will end on a different and happy note.

"Pilot Premnath" was an Indo-Srilankan joint venture and had Sivaji being paired with a Srilankan actress, Malini Fonseka. It was shot almost entirely in the lovely isle. Seeing the enchanting locales the country had to offer, there were a number of films in quick succession to be shot in Srilanka, Nangooram(1979). Othayadi Pathaiyiley(1980) and Mohana Punnagai(1981), for instance. Years later, Puthiya Mugam(1993) and now Kannathil Muththamittaal had scenes shot in Ilangai.

Others in the cast were Sridevi, Vijayakumar, Jaiganesh, Jayachitra, Satyapriya, Thengai Srinivasan and Manorama. It had A.C.Thirulogachander in the cockpit.

The story was a modified rehash of Sivaji's Paar Magaley Paar(1963), which itself was the celluloid adaptation of UAA's stage drama "Petraalthaan Pillaiya". Pilot Premnath is a widower with 3 children - Vijayakumar, Jaiganesh and Sridevi. Accidentally, he comes to know that one of them is not his own child, and he loses his piece of mind. In the end the pieces of the puzzle fall in place and all is well.

The other songs include the catchy "Azhagi oruthi ilanee vikkira kozhumbu veethiyiley"-JC&LRE, the feet-tapping Ceylon baila "Coatu potta mudalilikku kolumbulethaan kalyanam"-Ceylon Manohar&LRE (what a blast LRE has in this one!) and "Who is the black sheep"-TMS.

This song features Sivaji with Malini Fonseka. I saw the film as a child, and remember being horrified at her gruesome death. The pumping stove bursts and she is enveloped by fatal flames. I was too scared to go inside the kitchen at home for days after watching the film!

An enthralling duet. One that will find place of pride among Sivaji's best duets from the 70s. TMS starts off with the sound of the kuyil cooing in reply to his pallavi. Contrast the hero of 1978 who likens his beloved's laughter to the music of anklets, with the hero of 1996, who is reminded of the telephone ringing when he hears his sweetheart laugh!

Hark at VJ's "Endrum indha bhoomiyiley unakkaga naan pirappen, nee thaan en thalaivan endraal nooru jenmam naan eduppen". Soulful is the word that comes closest to describing the amazing grace in her song. TMS sounds as majestic as ever. The song was/is immensely popular. I remember that it went to the first position in the "Isai selvam" programme of Radio Ceylon the very next week after it was introduced, and there it stayed for months.

"Pilot Premnath" was an Indo-Srilankan joint venture and had Sivaji being paired with a Srilankan actress, Malini Fonseka.

The other songs include the catchy "Azhagi oruthi ilanee vikkira kozhumbu veethiyiley"-JC&LRE, the feet-tapping Ceylon baila "Coatu potta mudalilikku kolumbulethaan kalyanam"-Ceylon Manohar&LRE (what a blast LRE has in this one!) and "Who is the black sheep"-TMS.

NOV had given you a lucid description of the movie. If you want more details, give me some time. Because I have not also seen this after 1978-79. As for as it's BO performance is concerned, it was released on Deepavali day of 1978 (30.10.1978) and it ran for more than 100 days. In Ceylon, yes, you are right. It ran for a year.

Regards

groucho070

23rd August 2007, 10:14 AM

[tscii:708cd2c66d]I have promised way back that I will post reviews on under-rated gems. And I kept delaying. There are many films, that never got the deserved recognition, that are dear to my heart. Films like Thavaputhalvan, Gurudadchanai, Ethiroli, and of course, Nirakoodam that was discussed in previous page.

Here it is:

Niraikoodam (1969)

This is one of the most under appreciated of NT’s films (there are many more, trust me). Through information by Murali-sar and others, I guess it was lost in the abundance of damned good movies to come out that year (see recent post by Murali-sar).

Let me get to the movie.

Here NT flexes his acting muscle on a subject that we can all relate to – ordinary man suffering from stupid actions. We all tend to be playful one time or another, and sometimes overdoing it without thinking about the consequences. This film aims to tackle this issue and does it well.

Murali-sar has detailed the story (again, see earlier post) and I shall not go into there.

I had already seen this movie (VCD unfortunately) and admired it greatly and promised a second viewing. After posts by Murali-sar and others, I though it's about time to give it a second viewing.

What struck me in this second viewing is this: the comedy!

The first one hour is filled with hilarious moment, thanks to NT mostly and Cho (who, I just discovered, wrote the dialogues). Starting from what is supposed to be a serious scene (news of father’s death) right up to the tragic accident, NT is in full comedic mode. A good mix of verbal comedy and slapstick, he gets good co-operation from Muthuraman, Vaneesree (surprisingly good) and of course, the incomparable Tenngai Sreenivasan. NT’s comic timing is impeccable.

Note to Rajini fans: There is a scene where Tenggai is mistaken for a gardener and he would again eleven years later in Tillu Mullu, wearing same garb.

Of course, the accident happens and the prankster NT has to suffer the consequences – a triple blow. One, his close friend’s death. Then, his lovers, Vaneesree, is blinded. Third, she blames him for the death and her blindness, mostly the death.

He takes on another name and to redeem his sin, he chooses to marry and cure Vaneesree. Of course, Vaneesree is curious about NT’s (Prabakharan, who becomes Babu) voice, but a reasonable explanation is given and she buys it.

As he would at this point of time, NT was playing mostly characters that has to live with their own demon. Like in Ethiroli, the character takes a slight detour and is killed inch by inch by his conscience, here he has to face his actions on daily basis – his wife; and offering her his sincere love when, at any time, she will see that she had married the very culprit she despises is too much for him.

The bad guy here is NT and NT alone and the film moves along showing how he deals with it. Hell, he is not a superhero, and before you think, “okay he found a way”, there he stands in the climax, in full groom regalia waiting to be slaughtered like lamb! A powerful scene (again, read Murali-sars review), he swings from one emotion to another completely exposing his guilt and revealing those tiny saving intentions.

The quiet mask he wears during the entire second half of the movie is off, and he is naked emotionally here. Powerful. Very powerful. It is sometimes in small movies like this, in small moments like this you’d think, “What the ___!” Such was the impact of this scene.

Overall, this is one emotional roller coaster of a movie. Moving from the teasing medical student at the beginning, to the repressed suffering husband of the second half, and downright to the explosive finale, NT is the heart of the movie. Others did their part well (the comedy track can be a bit intrusive at times), but NT carried this movie on his shoulder and brought it to its destination point safely.

A highly underrated film that should be brought back to limelight again.

Other thoughts:
Like what Saradha madam says, this film should have been shot in colour. It would have been beautiful.
The song Vilakke is soooooooooooo beautiful. How can you add sorrow in a beautiful love song? This song shows how. V. Kumar did a great composition.
In Devan song, NT does a mean Ruthra Thandavam. That is one very angry lord.
Muktha Sreenivasan is a very interesting director. With exception of Anbai Thedi (a bit stupid but okay) he has made some really quality pix.[/tscii:708cd2c66d]

mr_karthik

23rd August 2007, 03:06 PM

Hats off to Murali, groucho070, for their wonderful writing.

As groucho promissed earlier, he come out with a wonderful under-rated (kodumai) movie Niraikudam.

As Saradha madam rightly said in one of the previous pages... 'Dear Shivaji fans, please come out from the circle you put by kattabomman, Pasamalar, Puthiya Paravai, Navarathri etc. There are plenty of gems like this movie in Shivaji's list. Please bring them to the light'.

Murali sir, I get shocked by seeing your list. My God.... Except February and April, all other months have a new Shivaji movie released in that year 1969.

The main reason for the failure of Shivaji's many wonderful movies, like Niraikudam, NOT BY ANY OTHER ACTORS. MAINLY BECAUSE OF NO SUFFICIENT GAP BETWEEN THE RELEASES.

I saw many actors, who released their movie, run it without disturbance of their next release, run it to the maximum till there will be 10 audience in the theatre, paste a 'Silver Jubilee' poster, then again give more gap till the fans and public forget that movie and release the second one.

But what to do... past is past.

But I am sure, if sufficient gap was given for 'Niraikudam', definitely it would be a Silver Jubilee movie, because it possess all quality and quantity to deserve for it.

groucho070

23rd August 2007, 04:25 PM

Well, Mr. Karthik. '69 seems to be both boon and curse for NT fans. Boon, because we get one NT film after another. Curse, because of one, the other suffered. Unfortunately, NT's fiercest rival this year happened to be NT himself. That's tragic, because most of them are decent films.

Here's Murali-sar's list and my quick comment:

1969

1.Anbalippu - Jan
Decent (nice to see him with Jai Shankar who is playing lead)

7. Deiva Magan - Sep
If not for Barrister Rajinikanth, this would have been my favourite of all time.

8. Thirudan - Oct
Decent.

9. Sivandha Man(n)- Nov.
Smashing. Powerful. Beautiful.

What a year 1969 was!

R.Saravanan

26th August 2007, 09:53 AM

Dear Hubbers and NT fans.

Sivaji Ganesan was a great Superstar for South India and popular in South India.
Please can anybody provide information about Nadigar thilagam's popularity in Hindi Films.
How was he popular with National level and Hindi Audiences. Some of his films were dubbed in Hindi.

I recollect some data from my memory

1. Parashakti was dubbed in Hindi.

2. Manohara was dubbed in Hindi and went on well for 100 days

3. Sivaji Ganesan has a desire to act in Hindi movies and get familar among National Level. This he expresses in his biography. (Any actor will have this desire)

4. But he stayed away from Hindi due to language. NT has the opinion that the actor should master the language which would give good expressions and dialogue delivery. May his love to Tamil could have stopped this.

5. From his interviews and writings , I come to the following understanding 'NT had a desire to act in some movies in Hindi and get popularized in National level and then come back to Tamil movies. His core concentration is Tamil movies. So in his career he has acted very less other language movies.
He has no regrets on this that he has not acted much in other languages
Is this understanding correct?

5. Many Hindi actors have had high respect for NT.

6. Ashok Kumar, Dilip Kumar, Sanjeev Kumar, Prithivi Rajkapoor were great fans of NT.
Sanjeev Kumar had a very close friendship with NT. In Devar Magan function Sanjeev Kumar attended the function.

7. In 1990's in many Film Functions Shivaji Ganesan was invited for giving awards. I used to watch this in DD National channel

8. Amitabh Bachhan has a high respect for Sivaji Ganesan and gives high praise in interviews

9. After France gave the Chevvalie Award, Indian film industrty woke up from the Sleep and then they gave the Dada Saheb Phaleke Award. After that they started invite him for many film festivals and functions.

10. Whenever the best films of Sivaji Ganesan were screened to the stars of Hindi field,
for re-making those films into Hindi, the stars have uniformly confessed thier comparative incompetence, by requesting people concerned, not to compare them (the Hindi stars) with the greatest genius of acting called Sivaji Ganesan....! Such instances have taken place there, countless number of times!
11. Director K.S.Gopalakrishnan said: "Whenever I mentioned Sivaji Ganesan's name, while
speaking with Hindi film artistes, the immediate reaction I noticed in them was this: They would instantly hold their ears with their hands, as if some miscomparison had been made, and would subsequently say, 'No, no, it's wrong to compare us with such a towering personality, Sivaji Ganesan....'".

Regards
Saravanan

R.Saravanan

26th August 2007, 10:14 AM

My experience
In Office (Location: New Jersey U.S.) when I was reading about Sivaji Ganesan, my collegue from North India use to ask about Shivaji Ganesan. I used to tell about him NT and his specialty. They are Patel family from New York. One morning he said he asked his mother whether she knows about Sivaji Ganesan.
His mother a House wife in early fifties has told him ' Oh Sivaji Ganesan. I know him. He is a great actor'.
I was very stunned and glad to hear this that Hindi audience in U.S. having high respect for him.

IMHO This is a big Award Nadigar Thilagam Sivaji Ganesan has achieved for his acting.

tfmlover, Thanks very much for this. I was there at this function, and this clip has brought back many memories. Tough you could hear the applause inthe video as NT walked in, it was way louder in the Indoor Stadium. Priot to this, a video showing clips of NT;s movies were shown, and the crowd kept appluading every few seconds.

Yesterday morning I saw one movie in Teja which had NT. It also had Krishna, Jayapradha and Nagesh. Krishna is a Inspector. NT is a big man in the town and his son is involving himself in unlawful activities. Krishna always has a fight with him. NT's character name is Mahendra and Krishna' name is gopi. What is the name of the movie? Wanted to know the details.

One thing I was sure was this must have come in 1981-82 because Fatafut Jayalakshmi acts in this movie. (She dies in the middle)

One more film NT acted with Krishan is Bezawada Bebbulli released during 1983 directed by his wife VijayaNirmala (actor-cum-director) She acted with NT in Babu

Murali Srinivas

30th August 2007, 08:38 PM

Dear abkhlabhi,

Thanks for the info. I know about Bejawada Boppili, but this movie Nivuru Gappina Nippu, I have a vague feeling that I have heard about it but not sure. That's why I asked you. So my guess is right. It is 1982. If you include this then 1982 becomes the calender year in which maximum films of NT were released (12 Tamil +1 Telugu). See the list.

1. Hitler Umanath - 26.01.1982

2. Oorukku Oru Pillai - 05.02.1982

3. Vaa Kanna Vaa - 06.02.1982

4. Garuda Sowkiyamma - 25.02.1982

5. Sangili - 14.04.1982

6. Vasandhathil Orr Naal - 07.05.1982

7. Theerppu - 21.05.1982

8. Nivuru Gappina Nippu - 24.06.1982

9. Thyagi - 03.09.1982

10. Thunai - 01.10.1982

11. Paritchaikku Neramatchu - 14.11.1982

12. Oorum Uravum - 14.11.1982

13. Nenjangal - 10.12.1982

Regards

Murali Srinivas

31st August 2007, 07:51 PM

The next on VCD viewing was Kalyanam Panniyum Brahmachari. Again I choose this because it was very long time since I last saw this and out of my purchases this was the only light hearted movie.

Released in 1954, KPB was produced by BR Banthalu and was directed by P.Neelakantan (again a very rare combo). The title card has T.R.Ramachandran's name in the first place followed by NT. True to the order, TRR is there throughout the movie. Padmini is the heroine and Ragini is the second heroine. Out of other cast, I could recogonise only KD Santhanam who comes in as TRR's father.

The story is simple. TRR is the only son of his parents and he is not interested in marriage lecturing always about spinsterhood. His father asks his sister's son NT to come to Madurai to help him in getting his son married. NT and Padmini are in love with each other and it so happens that Padmini also belongs to Madurai and she also comes home after finishing her college. TRR and Padmini meet up in two or three occasions where TRR literally fights with her and earns her displeasure. During one chance meeting, TRR over hearing someone talking about the beauty and good virtues of Padmini has a change of heart and decides to go for the marriage. His parents ask his murai pen Ragini to come to Madurai along with her parents. She is from a village background and so TRR insults her and her parents. Dejected they return and on the way meet Padmini and her father and (You guessed it correct) they are old family friends. Ragini stays back with Padmini.

Meanwhile TRR expresses his desire to marry Padmini and his parents call up Padmini's father and fixes up Penn Paarkum Padalam. NT on knowing this tries to stop but could not because their love has not been disclosed to their parents. When they reach Padmini's place, she literally grills TRR with her questions, she having learnt what all TRR told about Ragini. Insulted TRR and family leaves much to the satisfaction of NT. Now NT and Padmini plan for the marriage of Ragini with TRR. They find the easiest way. Ragini is dressed up as an American returned lady and TRR falls for her. (So even before Periya Idathu Penn, Pattikkada Pattanama and Sakalakala Vallavan, this knot had been made use of here - Taming of the shrew?) The marriage takes place and they leave for a trip where they are seperated by a incident. Meanwhile to get the nod from Padmini's father, NT joins as a cook in Padmini's house but walks away on a misunderstanding.

On hearing about the non return of TRR and Ragini, NT leaves for locating them and after an amnesia attack for Ragini which gets cured accidentally in a circus tent (where TRR is also forced to join), all ends well with NT marrying Padmini.

The story fully revolves around TRR. One pleasent surprise in this movie is though made in 1954, characters speak normal Tamil instead of the Thooya Tamizh which was the order of the day. The love scenes involving NT and Padmini are pleasent and very natural and casual. Even the only duet (Medhavi pole edhedho pesi emandhu pogalama) is different with Padmini singing " ithu nineteen fifty four-unga".

The dialogues are down to earth and bring a smile on your face. When the servant suggests to TRR's father to bring NT from Chennai, the father looks at him and remarks " Yaro unakku Moola(zh)i illenu sonnangale" for which the servant would retort " Athu yaaravadhu moola(zh)i illadhavan solli iruppan ayya". Many such remarks are spread thro' the movie.

Though one cannot term this as a great movie, it is a sit back and enjoy category. NT and Padmini with all youth and vigour excude a charm which is warm and attractive.

Regards

P_R

31st August 2007, 08:55 PM

Nice post Mr.MuraLi. I haven't sen this film but have heard a lot about it. Felt like having watched the film. Perhaps at leisure you would be able to post more about SivAji's performance. His comic prowess is usually undernoticed.

One pleasent surprise in this movie is though made in 1954, characters speak normal Tamil instead of the Thooya Tamizh which was the order of the day.Films around that time had one curious style: people will be talking normally, when they get emotional they will start talking in Senthamizh . :-)

Ragini is dressed up as an American returned lady and TRR falls for her. (So even before Periya Idathu Penn, Pattikkada Pattanama and Sakalakala Vallavan, this knot had been made use of here - Taming of the shrewd?) "Taming of the Shrew". Shrew refers to an arrogant, sharp tongued woman. Taming of the Shrew, refers to a storyline where such a woman is "tamed" by a man. Interestingly the gender identities have been switched around in this film (in SakalakalA vallavan it is both ways)

Murali Srinivas

1st September 2007, 11:55 AM

Dear PR,

Thanks. Error corrected. I was thinking of shrew but typed shrewd. As you said was in a hurry.

Regards

DHANUSU

1st September 2007, 06:35 PM

The next on VCD viewing was Kalyanam Panniyum Brahmachari. Again I choose this because it was very long time since I last saw this and out of my purchases this was the only light hearted movie.

Released in 1954, KPB was produced by BR Banthalu and was directed by P.Neelakantan (again a very rare combo). The title card has T.R.Ramachandran's name in the first place followed by NT. True to the order, TRR is there throughout the movie. Padmini is the heroine and Ragini is the second heroine. Out of other cast, I could recogonise only KD Santhanam who comes in as TRR's father.

The story is simple. TRR is the only son of his parents and he is not interested in marriage lecturing always about spinsterhood. His father asks his sister's son NT to come to Madurai to help him in getting his son married. NT and Padmini are in love with each other and it so happens that Padmini also belongs to Madurai and she also comes home after finishing her college. TRR and Padmini meet up in two or three occasions where TRR literally fights with her and earns her displeasure. During one chance meeting, TRR over hearing someone talking about the beauty and good virtues of Padmini has a change of heart and decides to go for the marriage. His parents ask his murai pen Ragini to come to Madurai along with her parents. She is from a village background and so TRR insults her and her parents. Dejected they return and on the way meet Padmini and her father and (You guessed it correct) they are old family friends. Ragini stays back with Padmini.

Meanwhile TRR expresses his desire to marry Padmini and his parents call up Padmini's father and fixes up Penn Paarkum Padalam. NT on knowing this tries to stop but could not because their love has not been disclosed to their parents. When they reach Padmini's place, she literally grills TRR with her questions, she having learnt what all TRR told about Ragini. Insulted TRR and family leaves much to the satisfaction of NT. Now NT and Padmini plan for the marriage of Ragini with TRR. They find the easiest way. Ragini is dressed up as an American returned lady and TRR falls for her. (So even before Periya Idathu Penn, Pattikkada Pattanama and Sakalakala Vallavan, this knot had been made use of here - Taming of the shrew?) The marriage takes place and they leave for a trip where they are seperated by a incident. Meanwhile to get the nod from Padmini's father, NT joins as a cook in Padmini's house but walks away on a misunderstanding.

On hearing about the non return of TRR and Ragini, NT leaves for locating them and after an amnesia attack for Ragini which gets cured accidentally in a circus tent (where TRR is also forced to join), all ends well with NT marrying Padmini.

The story fully revolves around TRR. One pleasent surprise in this movie is though made in 1954, characters speak normal Tamil instead of the Thooya Tamizh which was the order of the day. The love scenes involving NT and Padmini are pleasent and very natural and casual. Even the only duet (Medhavi pole edhedho pesi emandhu pogalama) is different with Padmini singing " ithu nineteen fifty four-unga".

The dialogues are down to earth and bring a smile on your face. When the servant suggests to TRR's father to bring NT from Chennai, the father looks at him and remarks " Yaro unakku Moola(zh)i illenu sonnangale" for which the servant would retort " Athu yaaravadhu moola(zh)i illadhavan solli iruppan ayya". Many such remarks are spread thro' the movie.

Though one cannot term this as a great movie, it is a sit back and enjoy category. NT and Padmini with all youth and vigour excude a charm which is warm and attractive.

Regards

Very nice review MS. If I am right, the immortal song "ninaithu paar unmai anbai" is featured in this movie only. A very rare voice (AM Raja) for NT. NT's clapping during this song would be simply stylish, nothing short of clapping scene from UP, in my humble view.

DHANUSU

1st September 2007, 06:51 PM

Dear Hubbers and NT fans.

Sivaji Ganesan was a great Superstar for South India and popular in South India.
Please can anybody provide information about Nadigar thilagam's popularity in Hindi Films.
How was he popular with National level and Hindi Audiences. Some of his films were dubbed in Hindi.

I recollect some data from my memory

1. Parashakti was dubbed in Hindi.

2. Manohara was dubbed in Hindi and went on well for 100 days

3. Sivaji Ganesan has a desire to act in Hindi movies and get familar among National Level. This he expresses in his biography. (Any actor will have this desire)

4. But he stayed away from Hindi due to language. NT has the opinion that the actor should master the language which would give good expressions and dialogue delivery. May his love to Tamil could have stopped this.

5. From his interviews and writings , I come to the following understanding 'NT had a desire to act in some movies in Hindi and get popularized in National level and then come back to Tamil movies. His core concentration is Tamil movies. So in his career he has acted very less other language movies.
He has no regrets on this that he has not acted much in other languages
Is this understanding correct?

5. Many Hindi actors have had high respect for NT.

6. Ashok Kumar, Dilip Kumar, Sanjeev Kumar, Prithivi Rajkapoor were great fans of NT.
Sanjeev Kumar had a very close friendship with NT. In Devar Magan function Sanjeev Kumar attended the function.

7. In 1990's in many Film Functions Shivaji Ganesan was invited for giving awards. I used to watch this in DD National channel

8. Amitabh Bachhan has a high respect for Sivaji Ganesan and gives high praise in interviews

9. After France gave the Chevvalie Award, Indian film industrty woke up from the Sleep and then they gave the Dada Saheb Phaleke Award. After that they started invite him for many film festivals and functions.

10. Whenever the best films of Sivaji Ganesan were screened to the stars of Hindi field,
for re-making those films into Hindi, the stars have uniformly confessed thier comparative incompetence, by requesting people concerned, not to compare them (the Hindi stars) with the greatest genius of acting called Sivaji Ganesan....! Such instances have taken place there, countless number of times!
11. Director K.S.Gopalakrishnan said: "Whenever I mentioned Sivaji Ganesan's name, while
speaking with Hindi film artistes, the immediate reaction I noticed in them was this: They would instantly hold their ears with their hands, as if some miscomparison had been made, and would subsequently say, 'No, no, it's wrong to compare us with such a towering personality, Sivaji Ganesan....'".

Regards
Saravanan

Dear Saravanan,

There is a factual error in point no. 6 of your post. Sanjeev Kumar passed away sometime in late eighties and certainly he could not have attended "Devar Magan" celebrations!!

I had the opportunity to watch the hindi remake of "Navarathiri" i.e. "Nayi din Nayi raath" starring Sanjeev Kumay. The acting of the two-time Bharath award winner was just nothing as compared to NT.

I also had the opportunity of watching "Khilona" later remade in Tamil as "Engirundho Vandhal". In that movie, to be fair, SK's acting was comparable to that of NT.

mr_karthik

1st September 2007, 07:02 PM

If I am right, the immortal song "ninaithu paar unmai anbai" is featured in this movie only. A very rare voice (AM Raja) for NT. NT's clapping during this song would be simply stylish, nothing short of clapping scene from UP, in my humble view.

Sorry Dhanusu,

The song you mentioned is from the movie "Vidivelli'.

Murali Srinivas

1st September 2007, 07:08 PM

Welcome back Dhanusu. We were missing you. Regarding Koduthu Paar song, it is not KPB but it is in Vidi Velli. In KPB, Chandrababu sings for NT (which I had already mentioned in NT's Anniversary function thread).

Welcome back Saravanan. As Dhanusu had written, it was not Sanjeev Kumar but Sunil Dutt who came for the Thevar Magan function.

Regards

mr_karthik

1st September 2007, 07:23 PM

I know about Bejawada Boppili, but this movie Nivuru Gappina Nippu, I have a vague feeling that I have heard about it but not sure. That's why I asked you. So my guess is right. It is 1982. If you include this then 1982 becomes the calender year in which maximum films of NT were released (12 Tamil +1 Telugu). See the list.

The main reason for the failure of Shivaji's many wonderful movies, like Niraikudam, NOT BY ANY OTHER ACTORS. MAINLY BECAUSE OF NO SUFFICIENT GAP BETWEEN THE RELEASES.

I saw many actors, who released their movie, run it without disturbance of their next release, run it to the maximum till there will be 10 audience in the theatre, paste a 'Silver Jubilee' poster, then again give more gap till the fans and public forget that movie and release the second one.

In 1981 also there were too many releases of NT movies. If my memory is correct...

As mentioned by Sarada madam, there are lot of movies of NT which are never mentioned during discussions. "Irumbuththirai" is one such a movie where NT's acting is par excellence; stylish and subtle. I like the scene where NT offers to set right the imported machine in the textile mill owned by SVRangarao. Another excellent scene is where NT describes to Vyjayanthimala, about his "first encounter" with a girl. Both the actors simply steal the scene. I have made a brief description of this scene in one of my earlier posts.

The speciality of NT is that even in the so called not-so-great movies he excels in some scenes which get etched in our memory; like the "birth day party" scene in "Neela Vaanam", "letter reading" scene and "Maadhavi ponmayilaal" song sequence in "Iru Malargal", "Penn paarkum padalam" scene in "Raman Yethanai Ramanadi", "requsting the father of the child kidnapped ny nagesh to release nagesh from jail" in "Galatta Kalyaanam, the innocent looking NT in "vinnodum mugiloodum" song, his childlike pranks, especially the sommersault bit in "Pudhayal"; like wise there are innumerable scenes.

ragasuda

2nd September 2007, 12:34 AM

Dear friends,
1981, 1982 ... you are all right. There were too many films. But there is one fact which should not go unnoticed. In 1971 beginning, five films of NT were running at a time. In April 1971 when Praptham and Sumathi En Sundari were released, there were 5 films (new films) released and running as detailed below:
(Location: Mount Road, Madras)
1. Shanthi - Thangaikkaaga
2. Plaza - Kulamaa Gunamaa
3. Wellingdon - Arunodayam
4. Midland - Praptham
5. Chithra - Sumathi En Sundari
Mind it, all these films were new films - compare it to the only new film released in January 1971 of MGR - Kumarikkottam at Globe Theatre. This is only to prove the fact that how far NT was a producers' actor. This feat was later equalled by Rajini in 1978, when six of his films were running simultaneously
1. Ilamai Oonjalaadugiradu
2. Kurinji Malar
3. Aval Appaditthaan
4. Thappu Thaalangal
(I do not exactly remember all these films but just to present the fact that after NT he is the one whose six new films were running simultaneously).
V. Raghavendran.

mr_karthik

2nd September 2007, 02:27 PM

Dear friends,
1981, 1982 ... you are all right. There were too many films. But there is one fact which should not go unnoticed. In 1971 beginning, five films of NT were running at a time. In April 1971 when Praptham and Sumathi En Sundari were released, there were 5 films (new films) released and running as detailed below:
(Location: Mount Road, Madras)
1. Shanthi - Thangaikkaaga
2. Plaza - Kulamaa Gunamaa
3. Wellingdon - Arunodayam
4. Midland - Praptham
5. Chithra - Sumathi En Sundari
Mind it, all these films were new films

Dear Raghavender,

I think the same period you mentioned here, even "Iru Dhuruvam" was also in running.

This feat was later equalled by Rajini in 1978, when six of his films were running simultaneously
1. Ilamai Oonjalaadugiradu
2. Kurinji Malar
3. Aval Appaditthaan
4. Thappu Thaalangal
(I do not exactly remember all these films but just to present the fact that after NT he is the one whose six new films were running simultaneously).
V. Raghavendran.

I dont think so. Because 'Ilamai onnjalaadukiradhu' was running in Midland (now Theatre Jayapradha). But 'Thappu Thaalangal' was released for Deepavali in Pilot. In that Deepavali Ilamai was lifted and 'Adhishtakaaran' was released in Midland. (In that Deepavali 'Pilot Premnath' was released in Alankar and Sigappu Rojakkal in Devi Paradise.

compare it to the only new film released in January 1971 of MGR - Kumarikkottam at Globe Theatre. This is only to prove the fact that how far NT was a producers' actor.

We know 'Adimaippen' was released in May5, 1969 and his next movie 'Nam Naadu' was released only on November 7, 1969.

But, as per the unwritten agreement with MGR fans, please dont drag MGR in NT's thread, to avoid unnecessary arguements.

NOV

3rd September 2007, 05:53 AM

I remember watching as a kid a scene where Sivaji will be singing and a cobra comes into the room. He will then ask the snake something thru the song.

song?
film?

joe

3rd September 2007, 06:49 AM

I remember watching as a kid a scene where Sivaji will be singing and a cobra comes into the room. He will then ask the snake something thru the song.

song?
film?

Is it Thiruvarudchelvar?

NOV

3rd September 2007, 06:57 AM

i dont think it was a devotional movie Joe.. :confused2:

sivaji will be seated on the floor singing the song and then suddenly the snake will appear.

madhu

3rd September 2007, 07:20 AM

i dont think it was a devotional movie Joe.. :confused2:

sivaji will be seated on the floor singing the song and then suddenly the snake will appear.